SuperNova
by mewmomoko1223
Summary: An all-new killing game set in a gorgeous hotel, led by a plush Tanooki. A cast of the ultimate horror author and 15 other students try to solve the mysteries, and finding a way to escape. A story full of love, friendship, horror and despair! Rated M for obvious horror themes. Author tries to draw all characters, death scenes, and screenshots of executions.
1. Beginning

Authors note: Hello! I hope you enjoy this! I've poured my heart into it! This first chapter is made to introduce the characters, and might go a bit fast. I was going for short interactions with each character, similar to how Naegi had to talk to each person rather quickly. This way, the characters will be all introduced, and we can get to the good stuff! There will be obvious references to different things, so hopefully that's not too cheesy! Thanks for reading!

Want to see what each character looks like? Check out Fanganronpasupernova on tumblr!

The ground was cold. The beautiful marble floor nearly reflected the pale young man who slowly awoken from unconsciousness. He pushed against the floor, pushing himself to sit up. Scanning the room, He noticed a piece of crumpled paper on the floor beside him. In messy handwriting, it read the following:

_Welcome to Hotel Despair! Please make your way to the ballroom. Go out of this room, and enter the big doors to the ballroom! Have fun, Haru!_

Haru couldn't understand what this was about. He tried to remember where he was, and how he got here. The last thing he remembered was working on his latest novel, slamming down a coffee. Then, nothing. He rubbed his temples, and brought himself to his feet. Following the directions, The young man stopped before a door. The chatter of people could be heard from within. That gave Haru a more comfortable feeling. If there are people here, someone must know what is going on. Right? He hoped so.

As the door opened, Haru saw fifteen other students. They were all kinds of personalities, and he didn't really recognize any of them. Staring at the scene for a long moment, He became lost in thought. It wasn't until he felt the soft grasp of someone's hand on his sleeve. Haru glanced at the source. A small, pale blonde young lady holding what seemed to be a silver tablet.

"Haru, Right?" She asked with the sweetest of smiles.

"Oh. Yeah. Um, Who are you?" He replied in confusion.

"My name is Emiri Arima. I'm trying to figure out what's going on. At the moment, I've come to the conclusion that everyone here is talented with the title of Ultimate." She spoke rather calmly, not at all worried about the situation.

"Really? What's yours?" Haru was curious. The girl by him seemed very amazed by her research.

"Ultimate Psychologist, I suppose. I've helped quite a few famous people and criminals."

That's when Haru's attention was caught. With a big, cheesy smile, he grabbed her hands, and spoke brightly, "Really?! Do you have stories about the brutal crimes they committed? Did any kill anyone? If so, can you go into full detail?!" It was like the situation didn't matter anymore. Haru was known as the Ultimate Horror Author. He was insanely skilled at writing gorey, and terrifying scenes that could make even the bold's skin crawl. He was a horror junkie at heart. The thrill of death intrigued him. The smell of blood made him crave more. But Haru would never harm another human being himself. Too messy. He didn't think it was worth it. A strange boy, he was.

Before she could answer all of his questions, a tall young man with black hair wandered over. Silver eyes glared down at the two, as he bluntly asked, "Hey. What's going on? The door is locked."

Taking advantage of the situation, Emiri spoke again, "Ah. Haru, This is Akihisa Domen, the Ultimate Bartender. He might be young, but he has quite the talent for mixing drinks. Akihisa, This is Haru Fukuhara, The Ultimate Horror Author."

"Horror?" The taller man groaned. He hated the sight of blood. Even cheesy horror movies made him sick. Instead, he shook his head and repeated, "The doors are locked. Do either of you know what's going on?"

Both saying no at different moments, Akihisa sighed again, and walked away. This wasn't his concern anymore if they couldn't help.

"I'll introduce you to the others. I've been asking names, and using my tablet to google them." Emiri said with a smile. She boldly took Haru's hand, and led him off. She decided to go to a sweet-looking young lady whose hair was in a messy bun, "Haru, This is Rio Kudo. She is the Ultimate Baker. Did you know that President Quinn once sought after her baked goods?"

Rio smiled shyly and said, "Oh, I only really met his secretary. It's nothing special. Hello, Haru." She waved at Haru, who smiled and waved back.

Haru noticed Akihisa nearby and brightly said, "Hey Akihisa, Have you found the way out yet?"

"Idiot, It's been two damn minutes." The sharp reply was, as he walked over. His expression softened when he got closer to Rio. He looked at her, "Um, Hello. I'm Akihisa."

"Rio. Pleased to meet you." She smiled at his awkward face.

Haru spoke again obnoxiously, "Akihisa can hook us up with alcohol! I think!"

Before Akihisa could yell at him, Rio turned to Akihisa, "Is that so? I don't have money, but I could make you some baked goods in return."

The taller man's expression softened again as he turned away, "Yeah, Sounds good. I'm going to keep walking around." With that, he quickly left, leaving Haru confused.

Emiri giggled a bit, and excused them, taking Haru to the next one. A ginger young man wearing a monocle. Emiri felt this one was kind, and so he'd be good for Haru to meet. She spoke, "Haru, This is Keiju Matsuri, the Ultimate Clockwork. He's not as popular as he once was, but he's still very skilled."

"Oh, um. Hello?" Keiju said, confused at why she was going into detail about his job,"I really don't mind less attention, honestly. It's comforting to just sit there, listen to music, and tinker with clocks."

Haru said, "Sounds boring." He was the type of guy who probably couldn't even tell time on an older clock, so it didn't interest him.

Keiju just smiled a bit at that, "Clocks have nostalgic value to them. So do books, right?"

Haru understood that much. He loved that old book smell. So he smiled and nodded.

Next, Emiri brought him to a small girl wearing all pastels. Emiri said, "This is Fuka Hirata. I..." She paused, as if confused, "I do not know what Ultimate she is."

"I'm ultimately cute!" Fuka replied, seeming to just playfully avoid the subject. She tugged on Haru's sleeve, "Hey, hey. You're Haru, right? I've read your stories! I liked the one about the medieval knight's spirit that vowed to execute the descendants of his enemies!"

Haru, pleased and willing to ignore the previous subject, replied, "Oh, Thanks! I appreciate it! That one was an older story of mine, but I still like it!"

"Hey hey, If you want creepy, come with me!" Fuka dragged him off, with poor Emiri running after them.

Fuka brought him to a young lady with lavender braids. The young lady was staring, pale at the wall across from her. It was like she was in a trance that she couldn't break out of. That is, until Fuka grabbed her, "Hey! Miss Medium! What cha see?!"

The girl yelped, jumping in surprise. She took a moment to breathe, then replied, "Oh, Um. It's nothing." She seemed afraid.

Emiri huffed a bit, as she caught up, "Don't scare her, Fuka! Haru, this is Mayu Yanagi, The Ultimate Medium. Some are unsure if she really is magical, but others claim that she could help those who died move on. I'm honestly not sure what to believe myself."

Mayu gently touched a black choker around her neck, still uneasy, but spoke again, "Nice to meet you."

Haru, yet again, seemed too happy to be true. Taking her hands in his, he said, "Hey, when you work, do you ever go to crime scenes and see dead bodies?!"

"I-I typically only see the spirits. Usually when I arrive to the crime scene, It's cleaned up." His mannerisms made her uneasy. She couldn't understand how someone could be so eager to see death.

Emiri calmly pushed Haru to move, "We have another nine people to meet. So keep going."

"Bye Mayu! Talk to me later with creepy stories!" He shouted back.

Emiri next brought him to a young woman dressed nicely who had a cold glance. Emiri spoke again, "Hello, Setsuna. Haru, This is Setsuna. She won't tell me her last name, nor can I find it online. She is the Ultimate Forger."

"Isn't that a crime?" Haru asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Isn't it a crime to not mind your own business?" Was the cold reply he received.

"Fair enough." Haru shrugged. He wasn't about to anger her. It was a bad idea, and even he knew that. His attention was caught when he heard arguing nearby.

Seeing as though Setsuna didn't seem to want to speak more, Emiri brought him over to see what was going on. A young man in a lab coat glared at a young lady with a daisy in her hair. He spoke, pissed, "I told you no, I will not let you test your dangerous ass shit on any animal."

"Oh common! It's safe! It's just not safe for human consumption!"

"Then how is it safe for animals?!" He snapped back.

Emiri coughed to catch their attention, then spoke calmly, "Haru, This is Ryuu Oshiro, the Ultimate Veterinarian. And the young lady is Chizuru Yasuda, The Ultimate Chemist."

Ryuu took this opportunity to say, "Nice to meet you, but I'd rather not be here. So I'm going to find a way out." And with that, he left.

Chizuru, however, was happy to talk. She spoke up, "Hello! Would you like to be my guinea pig?" She spoke as if she had one too many cups of coffee today. Perhaps she was nervous? Haru couldn't quite understand it.

"No, Thank you. I'd like to not die, or suffer."

"That's too bad. I'll ask someone else then!" With that, she hopped off, going to harass someone else.

Next was a rather short young lady with snow white hair. Such an innocent face, the girl was peeking around, probably trying to find a clue on where they were. Emiri spoke up,"This is Suzu Azuma, The Ultimate Waitress."

Haru smirked, amused,"Aren't you known for roasting people?"

The innocent young lady turned to him, and with a bright smile said,"Do you live under a fucking rock, or are you just good at asking dumb questions?" She cheerfully spoke again,"Either way, Yes. I'm paid handsomely to take orders and sass people. I think some people are just masochistic, honestly. They come for the thrill of being insulted. It's disgusting, really."

Honestly, Haru was amazed. For such a small, cute young lady, she had a tongue sharper than a knife. He remembered seeing it on the news. This little lady snapped at a customer in such a manner that got most of the restaurant laughing. She was going to be fired, but the story blew up. People began to come just to see if she'd sass them back. So they kept her, and paid her extra to become a comedy act basically. Suzu didn't mind. It wasn't hard for her to insult people, and it felt good to let out the anger. She also worked on their Twitter, sassing anyone interesting. The tiny lady was very proud that she even once sassed President Ohama when he was in office.

Next, Emiri brought him to a curly-haired young lady, who looked like she hadn't got a good night of sleep in weeks. Emiri spoke,"This is Miho Otome, The Ultimate Game Dev. She's made some very popular games. Including Ever Heart-Skipping Track Team, which has a huge following right now."

Again with Haru's drooling,"You made Ever Heart-Skipping?! I loved that one! It looked so cute, then BAM! Gore!" He grinned.

Miho looked at him, grasping onto the blue strap of her bag,"Yes, I did. I'm glad you liked it. Is there any sign of WiFi here? I need to work on my next project..."

Haru looked around,"I'm not sure. I haven't seen any papers or anything. Maybe we can find a worker and ask?"

Miho gave a small nod,"I'll go look for someone. Nice to meet you." She politely bowed, and walked off.

Emiri took Haru by his arm, bringing him to a tall, tattooed young man. She said,"This is Banri Hattori, The Ultimate Tattoo Artist. You can see his work on his body. It's very impressive."

Banri looked at her,"Thanks. I do everything out of spite. My pops wanted me to be a lawyer. Now I'm a famous tattoo artist. He can't help but to be proud, even if he doesn't approve." He gave a small smirk, amused about his life decisions.

"That's impressive. Don't you care if he doesn't approve?" The author asked, confused.

"Well, It doesn't matter. The dude was an asshole, I guess." He shrugged.

Emiri smiled gently, and spoke again,"Well, You seem happy, and that's all that matters."

Banri grinned and said,"Yeah, I am. My clients are are chill, and it's fun to get to be creative."

"Can you tattoo a cool skull on me?" Haru asked, curious.

"If you have the money," That comment made Haru's face scrunch, and his mind change. Needles didn't sound fun anyways.

Haru's attention was caught on a young man with a phone out. The young man held the phone up, seeming to be taking a video. He spoke,"Yo, kids! It's your boy, Moriade! Today we found the evasive Ultimate Wanderer. How did he end up in this hotel? How did I end up in this hotel? You're gonna have to watch and find out! Oh, Don't forget to like this video. And subscribe too, if you're new! Love ya all!" He grinned, his arm wrapped around a blue-haired young man who seemed to be in a daze.

Emiri spoke,"That is Touya Morioka, also known as Moriade on Youtube. He's the Ultimate Youtube star, and has a following of almost a billion subscribers. Everyone loves his cheery personality, and he does a lot of good with the money he's given. And next to him is the Ultimate Wanderer, Ikki Nitta. He's known to travel the world and survive on the smallest amount, despite how people send him money for his adventures. I heard he once survived off of a slice of white bread and a can of soda."

Haru looked amazed,"Hey, think Touya would promote my next book?"

"If you can handle his personality, perhaps." Emiri replied with a tired smile. It was very obvious from the way the young man was acting that he was very active and pushy. Since they were busy, she brought him to the last one. A tall young man with a terrifying glare.

"This is Yuma Taira, the Ultimate Bouncer. He's worked at the most famous clubs, and is really strong!" Emiri chirped happily. She didn't seem bothered by his cold expression.

Yuma turned to them, and simply said,"Hey." He didn't seem much for talking, and wasn't sure what to say anyways.

Haru said,"Hey, have you killed a guy? I heard you did."

"No, I don't really need to. Do you really just listen to any rumor you hear?" The tall man asked in response.

"Basically." Haru replied in the simplest manner. They were interrupted when the door opened again. But instead of another student, a strange sight was seen. It wasn't even human. A stuffed racoon trotted along inside, its feet making small squeaky noises as it trotted. It made its way to the stage of the ballroom. Everyone watched in silence and confusion as this creature crawled up the stairs. As it made its way to centerstage, it actually spoke.

"Hello there, Ladies and Gentleman! Let's start this game!" It lifted its front paws, the sakura petal on its head somehow sticking to it.


	2. A Night of Drinking and Murder

Author's note: When a death happens, I'm going to attempt to draw the death scene out and post it on Tumblr. I will always keep it under a cut so it won't be spoiled. But if you want the extra content of pictures, Check out the tumblr! Fanganronpasupernova on Tumblr.

It was like a strange fever dream. The soft plush racoon dog looked at the audience, then tilted its head to the side. It spoke again,"What are you all so freaked out over? Haven't you seen a tanooki before? Well, My name is Mononuki! I am in charge of all of you from now on. So let's get comfy, okay?"

Ryuu spoke up,"You're not even a real animal. What the fuck are you?" He walked over, grabbing it by its tail and said,"It's a stuffed animal, but how is it talking? I can't feel any speakers..." He looked confused, and irritated.

"Stop that!" Mononuki smacked him,"That's sexual harassment! I'm Mononuki, that's all you gotta know!" Ryuu dropped it, confused and shocked still. The strange creature dusted itself off,"Now, Girls on the 4th floor, boys on the 3rd. There's a cafe on the first floor, and a bar area on the second floor. You guys will be able to roam around all you'd like! I hope you enjoy your stay here!"

Suzu raised her hand, polite but despite that, she boldly asked,"What the fuck is going on here?" She huffed a bit,"We can't just stay here! We have jobs, and people to see."

"Ohhh right! Sorry about that! Well, If you want to get out of here, there's a simple thing you can do!"

"What is that?"

The next words to come out of the creature created a long silence. A simple two words that changed the vibe of the room completely. Simply,"Kill someone!"

Akihisa spoke up,"Is that some kind of sick joke? No one is going to kill someone just to leave. We'll just break down a door." He put a hand on his hip, glaring the creature down.

The creature stared shyly down at its little feet, and said,"Well, that would be a shame. The doors and windows are all plated down. There _is _the lobby doors, but they're locked. And there's a nice machine gun set up. If you were to try to break out of that..." Mononuki paused, a dark aura coming from it,"You'd be swiss cheese." This caused a small panic. Haru had been the only one waking up in the lobby, and he didn't notice that. The ballroom had no windows in it, but it seemed some of the students quickly remembered a strange detail.

"Is... that why there were curtains closed on every window?" Rio asked, confused.

Mononuki replied,"Yes! We figured we don't want you to panic at first glance, so we hid the windows with curtains so you wouldn't freak out at the metal plates!" It hopped up happily, "But you're all so stuck here! It'll be fun! Common!" It stopped, suddenly dark, "Or... you can kill one of the people here, and be free."

Fuka curiously asked,"All we gotta do is kill someone?"

Mononuki said,"Oh no! That would be too boring. You'd all be a bloody mess! Whenever someone dies, a trial will be held to figure out who the killer is. If the killer can hide their tracks and pin the blame on someone else, they'd be free!"

"And... what about everyone else?" Emiri asked, worried.

"Everyone else would be dead! Quickly gunned down! Or slowly executed one by one. Not quite sure yet!" The creature spoke as if this was a fun game. It spoke again,"You each have this nifty phone now! When you turn it on, it will display your full name! Please get accustomed to it, because it's very helpful! It has a map of the hotel, the rules of living here, and some other fun things! However... Break a rule, and you will be punished." It giggled cruelly, then spoke once more, "Now, this has been a lot of information. I'm going to let you all just soak it in, and get comfy. Read the rules very closely!" With that, it left as oddly as it came. It waddled to the edge of the stage, and just let itself fall down. It got up, and just trotted off. The room was silent, watching this unfold.

Akihisa said,"Whoa, wait!" He ran after the stuffed toy, opening the door to see it was suddenly gone. He looked confused,"What the fuck? Where did it go?!"

Everyone was uneasy. The first night was rather tense. Everyone didn't know each other, and didn't know what to believe. Would someone kill someone else just for freedom? No one was ready to trust each other yet. Everyone took a moment to read through the rules, and check out the phones. There was small chatter every once in a while, but other than that, pure silence resounded. Everyone decided it'd be best to split up by gender, and check out the rooms. It already was late, and everyone just wanted time to think.

"Good morning! Rise and shine, sunshines! It's now 9am, you should be awake by now!" On a monitor in the bedroom, an image of Mononuki appeared. It continued,"Feel free to enjoy your day together! See ya around!"

Haru wasn't sure when he woke up. Apparently, it was morning time from what that announcement declared. But who knows if that was right. Haru sat up, looking at the small bedroom. It had everything he would need, and even came with a few outfits for him. He debated on if he should even get up anyways. He's stuck here, so why hurry? He was then awoken by the sound of a soft knock. The knock grew a bit louder, and he mumbled,"Coming!" and got up, walking to the door.

What awaited him was Emiri, with her soft smile. She greeted him,"Good morning, Haru. How are you feeling?"

"Tired." Was his lazy response.

"Well, I came up with a good idea based on something we talked about last night. I went exploring to find there's a food storage room next to the bar that has a lot of alcohol. I figured we can ask Akihisa to help us with a party. It got pretty scary last night, but I think if we're all comfortable with each other, maybe we can work together to find a way out." She explained, seeming confident.

Haru rubbed his eyes sleepily. He wasn't sure what to believe, but he never really got to try alcohol, so he agreed to it. It seemed most of the people here were about 21. Even though some looked a bit younger. It didn't quite matter now, he assumed. He spoke, "Alright. Did you talk to Akihisa yet?"

"Not yet. I figured I'd get you on board first. It'd be nice to have help convincing him. Akihisa seems to be rather rude." She said, sighing lightly as the two left to Akihisa's room. Emiri knocked.

After a moment, Akihisa replied,"Who is it and why are you here?" He was a bit tense, worried.

Emiri replied,"We'd like to make a party tonight for everyone to enjoy! We'd like your help with the drinks!"

"No. Absolutely not! Someone could drug someone's drink, or poison it somehow. It's a huge risk doing anything like that here. Didn't you hear that creepy ass toy?!"

Emiri frowned,"Akihisa..." She frowned,"I don't think anyone here is going to kill anyone. We're all just confused. I'm sure this is just one big joke."

"Joke? I ain't risking anything. Go away." With that, he began to ignore them.

Emiri walked away with Haru, sighing,"What should we do?"

Haru thought about it until he remembered a strange detail. He grabbed Emiri's hand and began to pull her a bit,"Common!"

"What?! Where are we going?!"

"Rio's room!" He said, "I got a feeling she can help us!" He led them to the next floor, going to Rio's room. He knocked, but there was no answer. "She must be somewhere else..."

"Maybe the cafe? She does like to bake." Emiri spoke in an uncertain tone. They got back onto the elevator, heading down to the cafe. As Emiri stated, Rio was in the kitchen of the cafe, mixing together some cookie dough.

"Rio! Can you help us?" Haru asked eagerly.

"Help? With what, dear?" She responded softly, confused.

Haru spoke again,"We wanna make a party to get closer to everyone, but Akihisa won't agree to serve drinks. We were hoping you could help us talk to him." He smiled.

"Me? I'm not sure why you'd choose me to help, but alright. Let me finish preparing this cookie dough. It needs to freeze." She finished up.

As she finished up, Suzu walked in,"A party? Don't you two think that's an idiotic move? And why do you have to use Rio?" She huffed, seeming to already become fond of the taller female.

"It's not stupid," Haru huffed as he spoke, "It's smart, because if we like each other, we won't kill each other."

"Not everyone is that friendly," Suzu stated. Rio put her bowl into the freezer, and walked over. Suzu hugged her arm, clinging to her.

"It's alright, Suzu. There's no harm in a fun party." Rio said with a smile,"You stay here and make sure no one tries to eat my cookie dough." Suzu nodded obediently, letting go.

Rio walked with them to Akihisa's door. Strangely enough, Setsuna was already there. Setsuna glanced at them, then just silently left. Emiri looked a bit confused, and glanced over at Haru and Rio, "Think she heard our plan?"

"Hey Setsuna, What's up?" Haru just asked.

"Nothing. I'm just looking around." Was the quiet answer. Before they could ask for more, Setsuna just left.

Rio ignored the situation. She knocked softly, only for him to bluntly yell out,"Go away, you two, I'm not interested." Rio remained calm, knocking again. Hurried angry footsteps were heard as the door slammed open. Akihisa's angry expression suddenly looked shocked, "Oh! Rio! Uh, my bad. Thought it was Haru and Emiri."

Haru waved,"Hello, asshole!"

Akihisa ignored him, speaking again,"W..what can I help you with?"

Rio gave a sweet smile and spoke,"Well, I'd love it if you could help, actually. The party idea sounds rather fun. If you'd like, I can pay you in cookies. I'm making some now."

Unable to resist, Akihisa stared away, bashful,"Well, I mean if you want me to, sure. I guess it's fine."

With that, the party would be set up. They told everyone else, and managed to even get help setting it up. Everyone gathered for a fun night of drinking and chatting.

Even the more quiet people felt more at ease after a drink or two. Everyone was in the dining area except for Ikki. He had come for a few drinks, then he wandered off. Haru sat in a group with Setsuna, Ryuu, Emiri and Touya. Touya slammed down another shot,"Woo! Let's party! Aki! Another round please!"

Setsuna sipped some wine instead, but seemed a lot friendlier than before,"So, you handle animals? Must be nice."

"Nicer than handling idiot humans, yeah. Animals won't try to diagnose themselves. Although their owners are usually a pain in the ass."

Setsuna smiled a bit,"Jeez, I can just imagine a lady in a fur coat screaming at you for scaring her darling poodle." She giggled after she spoke. Ryuu chuckled in return.

Haru was unconscious, asleep on the table, and Emiri was trying to take care of him.

Another group was Rio, Akihisa, Suzu, and Keiju. Rio was very much drunk, reaching over the counter to lightly poke at Akihisa's hip,"Hey hey, Can I have another?"

"You have had enough. Jeez. Suzu, can you take her to her room?"

"Do I look like I can drag even a small dog to a different room? My arms are noodles. You take her."

"Fine." Akihisa gave everyone one last drink before walking over. He hesitated,"Can I just carry you? It's easier than you falling over."

Rio smiled, not bothered at all,"Please do, my prince!" She giggled, having had one too many drinks.

Akihisa's cheeks blushed pink, as he picked her up carefully and left the room.

Suzu bluntly said,"They're gonna fuck."

Keiju said,"H..How do you know?!"

The next group was Fuka, Miho, Banri, and Mayu. They were all chatting and drinking. Nothing really seemed wrong here, as they all seemed to get along. Other than Mayu who was already passed out. Fuka, little as she was, claimed she'd take Mayu back to her room.

Lastly was Chizuru and Yuma. Yuma was drinking alone, his cold stare rested on his glass. Chizuru placed a cup of water down,"This seat taken?"

"You want to sit with me? You realize I'm sitting here quietly and the others are all having fun, right?"

"Yup. I wanted to pick your brain. You're so quiet." She smiled, not at all threatened by his appearance.

"Fine. Let's talk."

The night went well. Everyone was chatty and talking a lot. Besides the obvious hangovers some of these people were going to have, everything seemed to be working.

Haru woke up the next morning to a bad headache. He felt dehydrated, and tired. However, he noticed beside him was a water bottle, along with some medicine. Grateful, he took it, realizing it was Emiri who left it for him. He got himself ready for the day, and left to go thank Emiri for taking care of him the night before.

Knocking on Emiri's door, Haru gave a light smile. He felt better knowing it seemed to be less tense now. Emiri opened the door, and her face lit up,"Haru! How are you feeling?"

"Like hell, but the meds should kick in at some point. Thanks, for everything." He smiled a bit.

"Thank me with some breakfast. I suck at cooking." She responded playfully.

"Fine, fine." Haru replied as they made their way to the food storage to pick out what to cook for breakfast. The halls were pretty quiet, since mostly everyone was sleeping or trying to avoid loud noises. The two chatted happily as they walked to the doors leading to the food storage room. But they didn't know that behind the doors was something that would change everything.

The doors opened up to show Setsuna laying on the ground, with multiple kitchen knives stabbed into her body. Her head was bleeding, and covered in what looked like wine. There was glass and half a wine glass on the floor beside her. Her shoe had fallen off and her ankle near it was bloody. The two stood, both silent in shock and fear. But it didn't take long for Emiri to scream, alerting the others.

The first to arrive was Ikki, who mumbled,"What happened in here?" He stopped, as he saw the scene.

"Ding dong ding! A body has been found! Please come to the food storage room to investigate. You have a time limit, so make sure to investigate to your heart's desire!" The words, although seemed cheerful, brought fear into the hearts of those who heard it. The first victim was found. Setsuna was no longer alive.


	3. Trial 1

The scene before them made Emiri's blood run cold. She wasn't sure how to handle it, but couldn't look away. People rushed in to figure out what was happening. Screams were heard, and everyone seemed to panic. The last one who entered was Akihisa. He stared at the scene, turning a deadly pale. Shaking, he could only mumble,"I'm going to throw up," And immediately ran out. Rio ran after him, worried for his sake.

The room grew quiet. Emiri finally looked at Haru to see another strange sight. He wasn't crying. He wasn't pale. He wasn't screaming. He was smiling. Haru was nearly drooling at the sight. He finally spoke, "A real murder. Holy shit, she's dead!" He exclaimed. The gore freak walked around her, making sure not to ruin the crime scene,"She's pale. Ah, so blood pools like that. Oh, you can see glass shards stuck in her scalp!" Strangely, he seemed excited. This took everyone for surprise.

"What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!" Suzu snapped finally, "Do you have some sort of gore fetish?!"

"Huh?" He seemed to snap out of it ever so slightly. Haru said, "Oh, no. I just... never seen a dead body before." He smiled, "Honestly, This is perfect for my next story. A crime noir story. The maiden gets hit over the head with a wine bottle!" He held himself, still nearly drooling.

Emiri said,"T..That aside, We... really shouldn't worry. We have Mayu. Mayu can you find her spirit, and ask her what happened?" She tried to smile, having hope that the medium would be able to solve everything.

Then laughing was heard. Mononuki was somehow right beside them. It spoke, barely containing its laughter, "Wow, you think it's that easy? I mean, it could be but Mayu is fucked if so!"

"What...do you mean?" Keiju asked, pale.

"What I mean is that collar around her neck. If she dares reveal who the killer is, or any vital information, it will quickly send lethal poison into her neck. A painful death for making the game too easy."

Those words caused Mayu to scream, falling down. She touched the collar,"T..that's why this is on me?!" She was terrified. One wrong move, and a painful death awaits. She could faintly see Setsuna's spirit, but she wasn't allowed to use it to help anyone. Despair in the shape of uselessness.

Emiri knelt down, trying to comfort her,"It's okay, dear. We will figure this out. You don't have to use your talent" She tried to smile to make her feel a bit more at ease. Mayu was crying, covering her face. It was obvious to tell she was terrified and overwhelmed. The death and the threat was too much for her to handle. Feeling bad, Ryuu offered to bring her to her room.

"Sorry to ruin a moment, but this is serious. We need to investigate. However, two people should watch the body to make sure the murderer doesn't try to hide any evidence." Yuma stated bluntly,"I will be one of them, since I'm the strongest of us all."

"I'll watch too!" Chirped Chizuru, who seems to have seen gorey scenes before. She wasn't too bothered by them.

Haru said,"This is exciting! A real murder! First, let's examine the body." He grinned. Yuma looked irritated.

"Don't touch the body. Have someone less creepy do that." Yuma bluntly spoke.

Chizuru knelt down, checking,"Hmm, Blow to the head, stabbed with knives on her chest, stomach, and thigh. There's also a small slash on the side of her ankle. It's hard to see since she fell down like this." She calmly poked around,"I'd like to think that she was knocked out before stabbed to death. Seems the most likely. Looks like there was a struggle though."

"You think?" Emiri asked.

"Yeah, the killer had to knock her out by hitting her head with enough force. Perhaps so they wouldn't be overpowered. Setsuna was a strong young lady." Chizuru continued,"Plus the slice on her ankle looks like she tried to kick at someone, only for them to cut her."

"I see. How interesting!" Haru replied.

The next thing to do was to look around. Haru noticed a little scrap of paper that looked burnt. He said, "Think this has meaning?"

Emiri took it, "Hmm, Maybe?" She looked thoughtful,"But it doesn't seem like it." She continued, "How about we look around the room?" She walked around, taking a careful look at the surroundings.

Banri spoke up, reading his phone,"It says the time of death was around 10pm. What was everyone doing around that time?"

Emiri said,"Most of us were in our room, or in the dining area." She thought about it calmly. She continued,"Plus, those of us in the dining room would've seen someone come out of the food storage room, covered in blood."

"There's no other doors to the food storage room. So how did the killer leave without getting noticed?"

"I'm not sure." Emiri said with a frown.

Haru said,"Hey guys, check this out!" He was on his knees, looking into a cabinet.

"What is it, Haru?" Emiri asked softly.

"There's a hidden door in this cabinet. It's big enough for someone shorter to curl up in." Haru stated, opening it to see it led to the hallway. Haru continued, "If they escaped out of this, they could've just got onto the elevator, and rushed to their room."

Emiri said,"That's true."

Next, they went outside to the bar area. Emiri said,"Well, Setsuna was drinking wine last night, so we know where the wine came from. Akihisa probably gave it to her." She looked around the bar, then noticed something,"Hey, there's night-time cold medication here."

Haru walked over,"Really?!" He asked, worried,"Think the killer tried to weaken her by making her tired?"

Emiri shrugged,"I'm not one hundred percent sure. But it's a chance." She sighed a bit.

Ikki walked over,"Did you guys find anything?" He asked, curious.

"Well, I'd like to think we found a lot." Haru said hopefully.

Ikki tilted his head to the side, in a daze. His cheek had a scratch on it, that had a little bit of dried blood on it still.

Emiri said,"What happened, Ikki?"

"Oh. Last night I was asleep in a cabinet, and when I got out to go to my room it scratched my cheek." He said, not concerned about it.

"Huh." Haru said, confused.

Time passed. It felt like forever, but it was finally time for a trial. Mononuki appeared on the monitors,"Time is up everyone! Head to the elevators and go to the basement! It's finally open! Can't wait for a fun trial!"

It seemed like a cruel joke. But for Haru, he was excited. He had been trying to figure out this mystery, and he believed he knew the answer. He left his room to see Yuma,"Time for the trial, I guess."

Yuma gave a cold nod,"Yes. Let's get this over with." The two walked together, meeting up with some of the other boys. The elevator had a few girls in it already, and they all went to the basement. The basement was an empty room with a single door. The door was beautiful, red and gold. If it wasn't for the situation, Haru would comment on how it looked out of place. Especially compared to the dreary basement room.

When everyone arrived, the door was unlocked. In a neat order, everyone walked in to see a trial room. Stained glass windows that led to nowhere. All of the podiums were in a circle, and each had a name engraved on a gold plate. On one podium was a beautiful picture of Setsuna, with a bloody X over her face.

"What... Is this?" Emiri asked, in shock.

"It's the place we do our trials!" Mononuki spoke up. It was sitting on a throne at the front of the room, "Everyone, take your assigned seat! I need to explain the trials in better detail now!" It watched as they all found their spots. It then continued, "The trials should be taken very seriously. You will all work together to figure out who of you all killed the victim. In this case, it's Setsuna!" It grinned, continuing, "Once you think you got the answer, you will all vote. If the majority votes for the right person, that person will be punished!"

"Punished?" Mayu asked in fear.

"Yes. A death for a death!" Mononuki grinned, "It wouldn't be fair otherwise. But if you all choose an innocent person, everyone but the killer will be punished. So you better hope you get the right answer. Take your time and really figure it out!" It laughed, "Go ahead and start!"

The room went silent for a moment. No one knew how to start, or what to say.

Finally, Yuma decided to start,"Let's start with alibis. I was sober, and so was Chizuru. We were in the dining hall until midnight, after which we went to our respective rooms."

"Yup yup!" Chizuru approved.

Haru said,"Me, Emiri, and Ryuu were all chatting until about 11. Then I got too tired from the alcohol..."

Suzu said,"I got drunk and passed out on the bar. Woke up on the bar too. Ya'll saw me. I was out like a light."

Fuka said,"I brought Mayu to her room after she passed out! I stayed with her because she clung to me." Mayu turned bright red, apologizing under her breath.

Miho said,"Banri and I discussed tattoos. I always wanted one, so we went to my room and looked at my tablet for ideas for one." Banri nodded.

Touya said,"I recorded myself last night. I have video evidence of me goofing off in my room doing a drinking challenge at that time."

Emiri said,"Well, I don't want to call anyone out... But there was nighttime cough medicine at the bar."

Touya said, "Akihisa?! It was you?!" He perked up, amazed, "That's so sneaky, man!" He then stopped, "Wait, nighttime meds aren't really used to knock people out."

Haru spoke up, "Yes, but it does make someone sleepy. So perhaps it was used to make her unable to fight back so easily."

Yuma said,"That's messed up. But it explains why he agreed to do that. Plus, he could've killed her when he went to get more alcohol."

All eyes were on Akihisa, who looked overwhelmed. He spoke up,"You all are fucked up assholes. I didn't fucking kill her."

Rio spoke up,"He was with me all night... I think. I was drunk. We... Spent the night together."

"He didn't leave the room?" Emiri asked.

"Well... He did to get me some water..." Rio looked worried for a moment.

Fuka said,"Whoa! So he did do it?!"

Akihisa snapped,"I did not kill her! There's no way I'd fucking kill her!" He looked insanely uneasy.

Haru said,"Well, we don't have proof you didn't!"

"Wait!" Rio spoke up again, "Akihisa took the medicine himself because he had a headache. He didn't want to get drunk, so he took the medicine! Akihisa wouldn't kill her for more than one reason!"

"Why would he care? He doesn't even know her." Yuma said with a sigh.

"Yes. He did." Rio spoke up. She looked uncomfortable, "Does.. Anyone have her phone?"

Akihisa said, "Rio, you don't have to..."

Chizuru said,"Yup! I do!" She pulled it out, "What do you want with it?"

Rio said, "...Please turn it on and show everyone." She stared away. The phone turned on, and a name lit up on screen:

**Setsuna Domen**

"Domen? That's..." Emiri's voice trailed off, as all eyes went back to Akihisa.

He sighed and spoke,"Akihisa Domen. Yes, we're siblings. I wouldn't kill my own sister. I went to get Rio water at 10pm but I went to the cafe, not the food storage room. So I didn't even go near the crime scene. Besides, the wine could've been enough to make someone easy to fight. Don't blame my damn headache for it." He stared away.

"Akihisa... I'm so sorry..." Rio mumbled. She couldn't imagine how upset he was. Not only to see his sister dead on the floor, but to be blamed for her murder.

"Who else didn't have an alibi?" Akihisa asked, changing the subject.

"Suzu's could be wrong." Touya stated.

"Excuse me, bitch?" Suzu asked,"I was passed out all night!"

"We don't know that! You could've woken up, killed her, then pretended to be sleep again!" He replied.

Suzu said,"Wait... I did wake up." She innocently looked away.

"So you admit it?!" Touya yelled,"Apologize to Akihisa right now!"

Suzu said,"Do you think I'm five or something?!"

Haru said,"Stop arguing, you two. Suzu, what happened last night?"

"Well, I woke up, and my head hurt like mad. I saw the medicine and took it. As I waited for it to work, I was looking at youtube. I found Touya's video and commented on it."

"Oh really? You liked it?!"

"Take a look at it." She smiled innocently.

Touya happily looked at his phone. His smile turned into a sour face,"Hey! What the hell, woman?!"

"What did she write?" Ryuu asked.

"She wrote "This idiot can't handle his liquor. He passed out and his boxers have dinosaurs on them," Who said you can write about my underwear?!" Touya asked.

"It was funny." Was the reply he got.

"Anyways, back on subject." Emiri said, sighing. The situation was getting ridiculous.

Haru said,"Oh! We can talk about that weird door!"

"What weird door?" Yuma asked.

Haru brought up the picture he took of the cabinet, "This one! It was that lower cabinet that is big enough for someone to hide in if they were small enough. There was a secret door that leads to the hallway!"

Yuma said, "So someone like me, Akihisa, or Banri couldn't use it. We're all too tall." He looked thoughtful.

"Wait! I just realized something." Emiri said, in shock, "There's someone who doesn't have an alibi and is small enough."

Haru realized what she meant, "You mean... Ikki?" He glanced over at the blue-haired male.

"What? Me?" Ikki asked, "I did go in that cabinet... It's comforting. But I didn't know there was that door."

"Where did you get that cut again?" Haru asked.

"I was in the cabinet for a while last night. It scratched my cheek on the way out."

"So... That confirms it?" Haru asked, confused, "But why, Ikki?"

"Huh? I didn't kill anyone." The dazed wanderer looked confused, "I drank a bit, and passed out in the cabinet."

Ryuu said,"Now that you mention it, We did see Ikki last night. He gave Setsuna his notebook when she asked for it."

It hit Haru. He said,"Paper." He pulled out the scrap of burnt paper, "This!?"

Ryuu said, "Looks like it."

Haru asked, "Can... Anyone prove where Ikki was last night?" Silence.

Mononuki finally spoke up,"So, did you all come to a conclusion?"

Haru said, "...I think? Ikki, did...you really do it?"

Ikki replied, "I did not." He shook a bit, "Really, I didn't. I was really asleep!"

Yuma sighed, "This is getting nowhere. He probably is afraid of getting punished."

Fuka said,"Remember, he's the Ultimate Wanderer. He's been around the world, and is basically a survivalist. It's very possible he was strong enough to stab her multiple times if she was intoxicated."

Haru said,"So, let's recap?" Emiri nodded. Haru spoke up again, "So, Last night we all had a party. Right before, Setsuna asked for the notebook, and Ikki gave it to her. Everyone went into little groups, and Ikki wandered off. He went into the food storage room, and stayed there until Setsuna came in. She probably came to give him back the notebook, but had already had quite a few drinks. She put the drink she currently had on the table, and went to give Ikki back his notebook. This is when he decided to strike. He took the kitchen knife, and tried to stab at her. However, she tried to fight back. He hit her ankle, and she fell down. When she tried to get up, he grabbed her drink, and hit her head as hard as he could." Haru looked deep in thought, "Then, when she was unconscious, he took two more knives and stabbed her. He then had to escape without being caught. So he crawled into the cabinet, ran onto the elevator, and cleaned up. Is that all right?"

"Ikki... Why?" Rio asked softly.

"I didn't... That's wrong..." The wanderer looked confused, and started to look around for anyone who believed him, "There had to have been someone else. I can't remember what happened last night!"

Akihisa said,"Drank too much, probably. People do stupid shit when they're drunk. But you killed her?!" He snapped, absolutely upset.

Ikki said, "No... I..."

"Time to vote!" Mononuki sung, as a voting screen popped up on everyone's phone. It said,"Please vote for who you think the blackened is!"

Moments of silence went by. Mononuki smiled as the screen by him turned on, showing a roulette wheel. It slowly stopped on Ikki, "So, you think it's the Ultimate Wanderer? Well, you're right! Ikki Nitta is the killer!" It laughed.

"No! I didn't... That's not right!" Ikki glared, upset. He glanced around for help, but no one would even look him in the eye, "Guys, this is insane! I didn't kill Setsuna..." His voice was soft, and his skin was pale. There was nothing he could do now.

"Ignore him! Anyways, time for a punishment! Ikki Nitta, Please be a good example for the future killers! Let's go!" The ground below Ikki suddenly caved in, a trap door opening. He fell down, into what will be his demise.


	4. Execution 1: Wandering into Hell

Ikki found himself sitting in what seemed to be a sandy desert. The heat was nearly unbearable, and he began to walk, seeing a sign that read, "This way!" He had no idea what to expect, but just wanted to get to a better environment. As he walked, A few little Mononuki's appeared, running along. At first, it seemed fine. But then, they started to throw small cactuses at him. They stuck, digging into his skin. Ikki yelped, beginning to run to get away from them. As he ran, the scenery changed to different things. First, It was a city. A seemingly quiet street. Ikki stopped to catch his breath, only to notice light coming from behind him. He glanced back to see a car driving towards him. He ran to the sidewalk, taking another moment to breathe. The poor young man glanced up only to see the car curve and hit him, knocking him down. It wasn't enough to knock him out, or kill him. The blow hit his arm since he was turned to the side, breaking his arm. Ikki sobbed, but continued to look for a way out. The scenery changed to a beautiful forest. He took the time to finally lay down, too tired.

Suddenly, a few mononukis came running by. They managed to pick him up and throw him into what seemed to be a casket. Ikki tried to sit up to try to get out, but they all jumped, causing him to fall back. He then suddenly felt another jump as they threw the casket, landing it in a dug up hole in the ground. Panicked, Ikki sat up, trying to get out, "H-hey!" He yelled, "Please, don't!" A rather big mononuki came by, pushing him down then shut the casket before he could get back up. The other mononuki's began to shovel dirt down, making it harder for him to push the casket open. Finally, after a moment that seemed too long, the hole was completely filled. Ikki was left to die alone underground. The sound of his desperate bangs against the casket could be heard until the monitor was shut off.


	5. Aftermath

The room was full of silence and dread. For what was once 16 healthy students was now 14. Ikki was left to die, and no one knew how to even try to save him. Each student began to cope in the only ways they knew. Not even Haru spoke. This wasn't a fun murder. It wasn't something he could write about. So it didn't interest him. But instead, something felt wrong to him. He couldn't quite feel anything, so he turned to Emiri, who was pale and in tears. He put a hand on her shoulder, but didn't say a word. No one spoke. Until, that is, something unexpected was heard.

"That's it?" Everyone turned to the source. It was Fuka. Standing there with a blank expression on her face. But before anyone could say anything, she asked again, staring at Mononuki, "That's it?"

"Yeah, You kids can cope, right?"

"That was messy." No one expected those strange words from the smallest person there. A small girl wearing pastels standing there, just staring Mononuki down. She spoke again, "That wasn't a real execution. That was a bullshit one. It would've been a lot less stress to just chop his head off, and call it a day. You're so boring." She turned away, as if offended.

Finally, Yuma had the guts to speak up, "You speak like you've seen a million executions."

"Da da daa~ Nice to meet you. My name is Fuka Hirata, the Ultimate Executioner." She curtsied and tilted her head to the side.

"Ultimate...What?!" Mononuki said, "Wait, I wasn't told you had an ultimate... How strange."

Haru perked back up, "Wait, you kill people for a living?!"

Fuka began to smile again, "Yes. Although these days, I just get to use lethal injection. It's pretty damn boring compared to the old days. Sometimes, I sneak things into the injections if I know the person is guilty enough." She said cheerfully, "Some people just deserve to die!"

"But... Why didn't you tell anyone?" Emiri asked shakingly, wiping away a tear.

"Well, at first I didn't want anyone to freak out on me. But now I was hesitating because you all would accuse me constantly. 'Oh no, she's a killer, so she had to murder her!' Or something stupid. I don't kill for pleasure. I get _paid _to kill. Why else would I waste energy?"

"I'm going to lay down. I don't feel so good." Yuma said with a sigh. Chizuru chased after him, smiling.

Akihisa was silent. Rio seemed very unsettled, but held onto his arm and guided him to his room. No one wanted to talk at this time. So everyone just went their separate ways.

Days went by. It wasn't like anyone got over the death, but most of the players decided it would be best to keep trying to build relationships. It's best to become friendly so there will be no killing, right? Haru made his way to the cafe. He stopped in the doorway, seeing a rather sweet scene. Akihisa was sitting at one of the tables, reading a magazine he found. Sitting beside him was Suzu, who was asleep with her head rested on his arm. He glanced up, and motioned for Haru to stay quiet. He seemed calmer, but not by very much. Rio walked in from the kitchen, and waved to Haru. She walked over and whispered, "Do you want some sweets? I made a lot." Haru gave a happy grin and nodded.

The quiet moment was ruined when Touya walked in, holding his phone, "Yeah, Your boy is alive! I've been through some shit, so give me a little like and subscribe to make me smile!" He winked at the camera, "Today, we're gonna try some of the Ultimate Baker's sweets! Is it as good as the president says? We'll see! Common, My little Moris!"

Suzu grumpily woke up, "Can you shut the fuck up for more than a few seconds? You woke me up."

It seemed to be his way of coping with the situation. Touya was leaning on his favorite hobby to keep him stable. He just laughed it off, "Ladies and gents, the cute little waitress herself! Super grumpy! Hey, who would pay me for cute pictures of her? Maybe merch?"

Suzu said, "I don't need to be on merch. I need a nap. You're desperate for attention."

"I am? Says the girl who roasts companies on Twitter in her free time!"

"Says the boy who can't go two days without his phone!"

"You can't either!"

The two bickered back and forth until Touya finally said, "You're so damn rude to everyone but Rio and Akihisa! Do you see them as the parents you never had or something?" He was trying to joke around, obviously trying to poke fun at how clingy she was. But something was set off in Suzu.

"Shut up. You don't know anything anyways!" She fumed, walking over and quickly slapped him across the face. With that, she stormed off.

"Touya!" Rio put her hands on her hips, scolding him, "That's not right."

Akihisa said, "Jeez..."

While Rio scolded Touya, Haru went after Suzu. Even he realized that something must've upset her. He followed her. Down the hallway, through the hall, up the stairs, and to the balcony. She sat down, staring down at the fake greenery and the pretty silver fencing around it.

"Touya's an ass, isn't he?" Haru asked, smiling and sat down by her.

Suzu jumped a bit, but looked at him. She was quiet for a moment, about to raise her defenses and yell, but then stopped. As if she gave up, she brought her knees to her chest, "I know he didn't mean it like that. I'm being stupid." She stared away.

"Nah, Trauma is nothing to play around with." He replied with a smile, "I'm sure whatever bothered you was legit."

She refused to look at him, but said, "My parents were never there for me. When they were home, they ignored me to keep working on their phones. I grew up thinking work is the only thing that would make me stand out. Because when I finally got the popularity, they finally looked at me. So... Maybe he was right. Rio is so nice, and welcoming. And Akihisa is kinda rude sometimes, but he's kind sometimes. He's stern, won't take people's shit, and is damn strong. My mom was cold, and my dad was a wimp who blackmails people."

"Then it's not wrong for you to look up to Rio and Aki." Haru said with his silly smile. He pat her head, "You're a good person, Suzu. You're the type I'd write about."

"What? You'd...write about me?"

"Yeah, that cute girl who acts tough, but right as she confesses her true feelings, the murderer stabs her."

She was silent for a long moment, then started to laugh. Wiping a tear from her eye, Suzu said, "You're so stupid, Haru."

"Suzu!" Rio ran over, concerned. Suzu got up, and Rio immediately hugged her. Rio didn't let her speak for a moment, hugging her tightly, "I really... Wouldn't mind if you look up to me."

"Did you hear what I said?" Suzu asked.

Rio shook her head,"No, but we saw you from the first floor. I figured what Touya said must've hit a nerve, and that would explain it." She smiled gently.

Akihisa followed after Rio, yanking an upset Touya. Akihisa pushed him, "Stop being a bitch,"

Touya huffed and stared away, "Sorry for being an asshole. I didn't know that would upset you."

Suzu looked at him. With tear-stained cheeks, she just said, "Apology not accepted, idiot. Not unless you look me in the eye."

"What?! Don't be picky!"

She began to laugh again, "Yeah, you're right. I don't want to look into your girly-ass eyes anyways."

"My eyes aren't girly! My father has these lavender eyes, and he's a badass!" He huffed.

"Whatever, idiot." Suzu said with a smirk.

Haru wasn't sure why, but he felt like he became closer to this group today.

The next day, Haru headed over to the second floor, wanting to check out the game room. He heard there was darts, and wanted to try them out. Instead, he found a nervous Miho in front of the door. "What is it?" Haru asked, confused.

"Well, It... It's kinda vain, but I wanted to see if they had my games here." Miho said, but spoke up again,"However, I saw a bug."

"Oh. Let me help." He walked in, seeing something on the ground, "Oh wow!" He walked over, but noticed something wasn't too right. He poked at the ground by it, and the bug wasn't moving. Haru's eyes narrowed and he just picked it up, "Okay, which one of you assholes did this?!"

Miho jumped, "_You grabbed it!?_" She shouted.

Giggling was heard and Chizuru snuck out from behind an arcade game, "I can't believe you fell for that, Miho!" She said cheerfully.

Miho said, "Fell for what?"

"It's a fake bug." Haru said with a confused smile.

Miho huffed, blushing a bit, "Why would you do that?!"

Chizuru said, "Dunno, I was bored." She shrugged.

A tired Yuma walked in, walking to Chizuru and just picked her up, "Common, stop harassing people."

"But I was gonna ask them if they'd try my latest potion!"

"Chemical."

"Same thing!"

"No, leave them alone." Yuma said with a sigh.

"Psh. Fine, but you're gonna let me borrow your jacket."

Haru raised his hand, and bluntly asked, "Are you two dating?"

Yuma's cheeks turned a bit red, and shot him a glare that could kill, "What are you talking about?"

Chizuru just laughed, "Silly Haru. Don't get into adult matters."

"You sleep together?!"

"Stop making him confused!" Yuma sighed.

Miho looked at Yuma, "This is the first time I've seen you react like this. You've been so cold and isolated."

"That's because he's scared people fear him. Funny, isn't it? But that's fine, because Chizu is here!" Chizuru grinned, proud and wrapped her arms around him.

Yuma stared away, "I'm used to people fearing me for my size and glare. Chizuru seems to not even care. Someone needs to stop her from harassing people anyways." He said.

Haru just chuckled, "Well, at least you're happy."


	6. Girls and Guys night!

Author's note: For illustrations, please check the tumblr! Enjoy!

What goes up, must come down they say. The students seem to be coping well, and are getting used to living together. That won't do, will it?

Haru stayed up one quiet night. All of this had given him inspiration for his writing. He sat down at the desk, getting comfy. It wasn't his typical writing room, but he supposed he'd make use of the desk anyways. He grabbed his rabbit pen from behind his ear, and found a purple notebook on his desk. Odd, but he assumed whoever kept them here wanted to give them something to do. Or perhaps a place to write a suicide note. Either way, Haru didn't care. He'd just use it to write up a draft. Words flowed onto the paper, as Haru wrote with a big smile on his face. Blood, gore, pink splattered onto every surface he could think of. When he wrote, he got lost in his work. Hours went on by, and he wasn't ready to stop. It wasn't until a knock on his door snapped him out of his daze. Tired, he walked over and opened the door to see Emiri.

"Haru! Did you get any sleep last night?"

"It's morning?" Haru narrowed his eyes, confused. His hair was a wreck, and his ahoge was even messed up. It was split into two looking like a fountain on top of his head.

Emiri put her hands on her hips, pouting and said, "You need to take better care of yourself, Haru. Your work is going to suffer if you're too tired! We're getting breakfast, but afterwards, you're taking a nap!" She demanded, grabbing his wrist.

"Ah, but my writing!" Haru glanced back into his room, "I was only a few chapters away!"

"You can finish it later!" Emiri answered defiantly, dragging him to the cafe, "The others are eating anyways!"

They arrived as some of the other players were either just arriving or just leaving. Suzu was taking breakfast orders, as Rio and Akihisa were cooking together for everyone. She looked over, "Hey there, you two. Rio and Akihisa are nice enough to make breakfast for everyone! We have omelets and pancakes. Take your pick."

Haru said,"Cereal!"

"Did I say cereal, you idiot? No. Omelets or pancakes."

Haru frowned, "Fine. Pancakes."

Emiri just smiled and said, "I'll have pancakes too."

Suzu nodded, "Please sit wherever you want." She then went off to go tell Rio and Akihisa.

Emiri took Haru over to where Miho was sitting, "Can we sit with you, Miho?" She asked.

"Oh, Um, Yes." Miho carefully moved her laptop just enough so she can still work, but make more room for people. The two took their seat.

Emiri smiled, "Like you, Haru, Miho works a lot. But she knows to eat breakfast and take breaks." She said with a small giggle.

Haru said, "Stop harassing me. I did nothing wrong." He pouted, then looked at Miho, "You really love your job, don't you?"

Miho nodded, speaking gently, "It's my life's work. I don't think life would matter as much to me without my work. I've put so much of my heart and soul into each project I make."

"And it gets returned." Emiri said simply, "You have a lot of fans, and a lot of people appreciate what you do."

Miho modestly smiled, "I'm very grateful. I keep every fan letter I get."

Touya then walked in, "Hey guys! What are you talking about?" He asked with a big smile on his face.

"Work," Haru said simply.

Emiri spoke next, "Haru and Miho are both very involved in their work. Touya, you're similar, right?"

Touya said, "Oh yeah, My following means the damn world to me." He sat down, grinning, "You don't know happiness until you get fan letters from little teenagers who idolize you." He chuckled, "It makes me the happy person I am."

Miho perked up, "Right? It makes me so happy seeing people cosplay my characters!"

Haru said, "I love doing autograph events. It's cute to see people get so excited to see me."

Emiri smiled, knowing that she helped. She let them chat as Suzu came by with their food. Touya just grinned and ordered also. With the usual sass, Suzu left to get his order placed.

That night, Chizuru walked along. She spotted Mayu and went up, linking arms with her, "Kidnapping you!"

"What?!" Mayu looked shocked.

Chizuru said, "I'm gonna host a girl's night! Common, let's grab the other girls. She managed to get Emiri and Rio. Suzu wanted to rest, Fuka was no where to be found, and Miho was too busy on her project.

The four girls were in Chizuru's room. The door was closed so no one could peek. They were all in pajamas that the mastermind left for them, and Emiri had made tea for them to enjoy.

Rio brushed Mayu's hair, "Poor dear, It must be terrifying to have that necklace on."

Mayu stared down, speaking softly, "Mononuki gave me full details that night. I'm allowed to talk to the spirits, and I can relay messages as long as they don't ruin a trial or point out who is behind this. I told Setsuna, but I haven't been able to find Ikki's spirit."

Emiri said, "Is Setsuna handling it well?"

Mayu said, "The afterlife isn't painful. It's lonely if the spirit wanders alone, but it isn't painful. Setsuna is okay. She is a bit upset because she said she found out something important. But she can't tell me because she says it would cause me too much stress. She doesn't want me to die." She frowned.

Chizuru said, "Hey, what do spirits look like? Little balls of energy?"

"No, they look like people. When I was younger, I couldn't tell the difference between a spirit and a human. It scared my parents because they would see me talking to nothing."

"That's so cool though!" Chizuru exclaimed.

Setsuna watched over the girls, staying by Mayu so she wouldn't feel alone.

Rio said, "Hey Mayu. Is that why Aki has seemed calmer?"

Mayu nodded, "Yeah, I relayed messages back and forth between them. He knows she's not suffering, and they know they adored each other." She gave a soft smile, "I feel good knowing I was helpful."

Meanwhile, Haru decided to host a game night with the guys. He managed to get Banri, Yuma, Keiju and Akihisa. Touya wanted to nap, and Ryuu didn't want to. Due to the fact Yuma worked at casinos, they decided to go with the most innocent card game possible as their first game. Go fish.

"Haru for the last _fucking_ time. I don't have an ace, Keiju doesn't have an ace, Banri doesn't have an ace, and Yuma doesn't have an ace. _Stop asking everyone!_" Akihisa snapped, irritated.

Haru huffed,"Fine!" He took a card.

Yuma said,"Akihisa, do you have a 7?"

"No. Go fish."

One round later, Akihisa picked up a card. He couldn't believe what he saw. In his hand was now an ace of hearts. He kept his composure until it was his turn again. With the straightest face he could make, he looked directly at Haru,"Haru. Do you have an ace?"

Haru looked betrayed. The person who yelled at him was the one who got the ace. How dare Akihisa? With one hand on his chest, he leaned back with an offended expression, "How dare you?"

Akihisa smirked, "Hand it over, shrimp."

Haru looked defeated, handing him the card.

The next activity was a fighting game that Miho had made. Haru said,"So, which character is your favorite, guys?"

Yuma said, "I like Sakuya."

"She's like, the cutest character there." Akihisa said.

Yuma said, "I like how she's very feminine but could kick ass. I've known girls like that, and they impress me to no end."

"So, you're talking about Chizuru?"

"Shut up, Haru."

Keiju just chuckled a bit, "I'm glad everyone is getting along."

Banri huffed, "You're just saying that because you're winning."

Haru pouted in response, "Yeah, you work with old clocks! How can you play so well?!"

Keiju grinned a bit, and said, "Well, just because I like vintage things, it doesn't mean I don't indulge in modern stuff, guys. Jeez, you act like I'm some old man."

At the same time, The girls were chatting, getting ready to go to the cafe for snacks. Emiri said, "I'll invite the boys and people who aren't here."

Mayu said, "That sounds good."

Emiri said,"Let's see. I'll send Haru and Suzu a message."

With that, the girls sat to chat for a bit longer while they waited for messages back.

While the girls waited in Chizuru's room, the boys were getting up to go meet up with everyone. Before they got to the door though, a scream was heard. Haru froze in front of the door, "What was that?"

Akihisa said, "Nothing good, probably."

"That sounded like Suzu." Keiju said with a frown.

The boys ran out to see nothing there. Haru then noticed something from below and suddenly ran off. Akihisa said, "Haru?!" The boys all ran after him. Down the elevator, and towards the lobby. However, no one expected what was next. Because impaled on the metal fence near the lobby opening was none other than Suzu, dead on impact.


	7. Trial 2

It seemed too insane to process. Judging from the scream, Suzu had been alive only a few minutes ago. This death didn't excite Haru as much. It was bloody, yes. But it lacked intent, he felt. It seemed to him that someone had just pushed her off of one of the higher floor's balcony. It was then the body found announcement could be heard. Keiju fell back, pale and panicked,"S-Suzu?!"

Akihisa's eyes widened, looking in pain. He wanted to move her corpse, but knew it had to stay where it was for investigations. But he couldn't help but to feel bad. Her cheeks were red and tear-stained. It seemed like she was crying before she died. Some part of him saw her as a little sister or daughter. So seeing her lifeless corpse made him feel like he lost another close person to him. He couldn't take his eyes off of it.

Yuma was helping Keiju up. Banri put a hand on Akihisa's shoulder, "We should call the girls over." He said softly. He figured Rio might be able to comfort Akihisa at this time.

It didn't take long for the girls to make their way over. Emiri said, "Whoa! We heard the announcement but... Another death?" She frowned.

Haru nodded, "Yeah, we heard her scream but it was too late by the time we got here." He sighed a bit.

Chizuru stood with Rio, who was frozen in fear. Another friend dead. And one that had viewed her as a mother. Rio's eyes began to tear up, but she tried to remain calm. She walked over to Akihisa, and wrapped her arms around his left arm, hugging it. She didn't have the energy to tell him it was okay. In her mind, it wasn't. It was starting to overwhelm her. Rio was a calm person, but had never witnessed murders before. This was all so much for her. She kept telling herself that this would be the last one. No more after this. But she couldn't help but to think of the fact someone had to be executed still. The thought made her sick. She pressed her forehead against his arm. In return, he turned a bit, pulling her closer and smoothed down her hair.

Emiri stayed by Haru, frowning at the sight, "I feel so bad..."

Haru nodded, "Yeah. But it's not the time to stand here. We gotta start investigating, or we'll all die," He said.

Chizuru walked to Yuma, "Ready to watch over the body again?" He nodded in return, as the two took their places by Suzu's body.

Haru looked at Emiri, "I think we should figure out alibis. Our groups should be fine. No one left ours at any time."

Emiri agreed, "Alright. So that leaves us with Miho, Touya, Fuka, and Ryuu. Let's go to each and get their side of the story." She smiled a bit, "We need to work hard, since I think some of us aren't able to investigate."

They went up to the second floor. Haru said,"Let's just look for evidence for now. Miho might be in the game room anyways." They didn't find her in the game room though. They looked at the balconies.

"So, which floor do you think she fell from?" Haru asked.

"Hmm... 3rd or 4th, definitely." Emiri glanced down, then something caught her eye, "Blood?"

Haru said, "What?! Really?!" He walked over to see a stain of blood on the balcony, "Think that was from Suzu?"

"Maybe." Emiri said with a frown.

Haru noticed a big cart, "What is this?"

Mononuki popped out of some laundry in the cart, "It's my laundry cart! Someone has to make sure you idiots have clean bedding!" It smiled, happy.

Haru said, "Is... That so? That's very considerate of you."

Mononuki nodded happily. "You're welcome."

Emiri sighed, and said, "Haru, we don't have time to talk to it."

They were going back to the elevator when they heard something in the First Aid Room. Emiri said, "Let's go check that out."

Inside was Touya, sitting on the bed with a blanket over him. He was bleeding from his arm, and couldn't seem to bandage himself up properly.

"Whoa, Touya, what happened?!" Haru asked.

Emiri walked over, "Here. Let me help." She said, taking the bandages from him.

Touya grinned,"Ah, well. I was looking around for something cool for my video. A few doors down is a room full of weapons. I was trying to be cool with a sword and accidentally fell and cut my arm." He said, chuckling a bit. He then looked at them, "What's up, guys? You look pale. I'm supposed to be the one freaked out."

"Suzu is dead." Emiri said simply.

"What!? I mean, I know the girl's an easy target but why would someone kill Suzu?!" He frowned, "That's not right..."

Haru shrugged, "We're investigating now. So if you can help, that would be great." With that, they left to check the others.

They ended up finding Miho in her room. She was passed out by her laptop, seeming to have worked herself to exhaustion. The two shrugged, and decided to go see one of the other two.

Fuka was in her room. She smiled, "Oh? Another death? How neat!"

"It's not neat!" Emiri said, frowning, "We're getting alibis. What were you doing during the time of death?"

"I was in my room, reading comics!" Fuka said with a smile, "Remember, silly. I don't kill people unless I'm paid."

Haru nodded, "We know." Knowing this was a dead end, Haru said goodbye, and led Emiri out. One more person to check.

Ryuu was at the bar. He glanced up at the two, "I've been here the whole time. Although I was in the food storage when I heard the scream." He spoke calmly, "I believe she probably upset someone who was already close to snapping. I do feel bad for her though. She was like a small cat."

Haru said, "Wow, she was!"

Emiri sighed, shaking the subject away, "Anything else to comment, Ryuu?"

"No, not really. I just want to enjoy some tea before the trial. I'll do my own investigations."

Soon, The trial was to begin. Everyone took their spot, with Suzu, Setsuna, and Ikki's spots being replaced with a framed picture of them.

Haru looked around. He knew one of these people killed Suzu. But how? And why? He wasn't sure, but he knew they had to figure it out. Otherwise, everyone but the killer would live. And for Suzu's sake, he wanted to do it. He could see the pain on Rio and Akihisa's faces. He knew the emotional toll on them both was getting too high. It was very possible one of them if not both might snap soon. The thought made him frown. He was growing close to these people.

The room was silent, so Haru decided to start it up, "So um... I suppose we should talk about how she died."

Akihisa bluntly said, "She fell from a high floor and was killed on impact." Rio just made her way over to him to keep him comforted. Mononuki allowed this since it didn't make a difference to it.

Ryuu said, "It was probably Fuka. She's dangerous and you all said she didn't have an alibi."

"You didn't either!" Fuka said with a huff, "I don't kill people unless paid! So I'd be considered a weapon if so! Right, Mononuki?!"

Mononuki spoke up, "I mean, yeah. If you killed someone on someone else's orders, that person would be the killer since they had the intent."

Fuka said, "See?"

Touya said, "Well, I'm sure she died from the 4th floor. Fell from a high height, right?"

Haru thought for a moment, then shot up, "No, that's wrong!" He looked thoughtful," The girls were all across the way from wherever she fell. If she had been pushed from the 4th floor, the girls would have heard the situation! So it had to have been the 3rd floor. Almost all of us guys were in the games room on the 2nd floor."

Emiri said,"That makes sense. None of us heard any yelling or anything. The scream sounded pretty far away." Chizuru nodded to that.

"So, She was killed on the 3rd floor?" Rio asked softly.

Haru nodded, "Yeah, seems like it."

"So it had to be someone on the third floor!" Fuka said.

But something seemed off about that. No one was on the 3rd floor from what Haru gathered. Touya was in the First aid room on the second floor, and Ryuu was in the food storage. And the rest of the boys were on the 2nd floor. And the girls were on the 4th. Something didn't add up. Someone's story was off. Haru knew it.

Emiri said, "Well, We have to figure out how the killer left the scene. If they would've taken the elevator, they would've been caught when us girls came down. Since we came right when we heard the faint scream."

That caused Haru to remember something. The blood stain on the balcony of the 3rd floor. He said, "Maybe the killer climbed down?"

"Climbed down? How?" Ryuu asked, raising an eyebrow.

Haru remembered something else, "Mononuki's laundry cart!"

Fuka said,"Yeah! They probably hid in it until they had a chance to make their way down!"

Haru shook his head, "No, Mononuki itself was in there. They would've gotten a shock by that."

Akihisa said, "So mentioning that was pointless."

Haru said, "No! It's still important! The killer must've grabbed a blanket to make a makeshift rope to get to another floor!" He looked thoughtful, and continued, "So, someone's alibi doesn't add up."

"Maybe Ryuu's? He has a short temper." Fuka said, smiling.

Ryuu said, "Not only was I on the second floor, but I was in the food storage room. There was no way I could get all the way to the food storage room without someone seeing me."

Miho timidly raised her hand, "Um. I can... prove Ryuu innocent." She said.

"Really? How?" Haru asked.

"Umm, we were texting. At the time of the murder. Before I passed out."

Mononuki said, "Here's the exchange!" The monitor behind it changed to a phone conversation:

Ryuu: Are you still working? -_- Get something to eat, woman.

Miho: D: I'm fine! I just have a bit more!

Ryuu: I'm going to get you food and you're going to eat it, or I swear to god, I'm going to drug you.

Ryuu: Miho?

Ryuu: Miho did you pass out?!

Ryuu: Miho, I'm going to make food, you better open the damn door when I get there. It'll be 15 minutes.

Haru said, "A secret romance!"

Ryuu looked irritated and said, "Shut it, idiot. I just didn't want someone to die from starvation."

Emiri said, "The time stamps work out, if so." She looked calm, "I think I know who it is." She frowned.

Haru said, "Who?"

Emiri said, "Haru, think of our investigation at the balcony."

It then clicked. Haru said,"The blood. The killer cut themselves trying to climb down since the balconies have a very short metal fence around them. It's pointy so they accidentally hurt themselves."

"So?" Akihisa asked.

Haru said, "So, the killer has to be Touya."

Touya said,"What?! Me?! I explained to you what happened! Plus, my wound was too big to be from the fence!"

Emiri spoke up, "It is. But, it doesn't mean you're not the killer."

Keiju said, "How is he the killer if so?"

Emiri said in a sad tone, "Being nervous over being caught could make someone do something drastic. The first aid room has a few scalpels in it just in case. One was missing. It's possible Touya harmed himself to make us think his wound was too big to be that. And to cover up the blood he got on the blanket."

Haru continued for her, "Which makes sense. He used the blanket as a rope, then jumped into the bed to act like he's been there for a while, and was just cold."

"Whoa whoa whoa, you're making some big ass assumptions!" Touya said.

Banri spoke, "Touya's too stupid to kill someone anyways."

Touya said, "Rude, but thanks!" He huffed.

"Hold on." Rio spoke up, "There's one more damning evidence."

Mayu said,"W-what is it?"

Rio said, "Emiri messaged Suzu to tell her to ask Touya if he wanted food. We were all going to go get snacks at the cafe. I was going to make a lot for everyone."

Touya said,"S-she died after she asked me! I saw her and then I heard her scream after she left!"

Haru perked up, "Wait, no that's wrong. Suzu knew to go to your room. She wouldn't have known you were in the first aid room."

Touya said,"I messaged her!"

Haru said, "Then give us proof."

Touya froze up, "Proof? Why would you need to see it? I just told you!"

Emiri said, "If you don't have proof, then you're guilty."

Touya said,"What?! W-we fought a lot, but I wouldn't KILL Suzu! That's ridiculous!"

Rio said," Perhaps we need to go through this from the beginning then."

Haru nodded, taking a deep breath, then started," Me and Chizuru had girls and guys night. Touya, Fuka, Suzu, Miho and Ryuu didn't go for their varied reasons. The girls wanted to have some snacks, and invited everyone. Emiri asked Suzu to go tell Touya, since she wanted them to get along better and knew he might be sleeping. So Suzu went to Touya's room. The two perhaps got into an argument and something caused Touya to snap and shove her off the balcony, killing her. Knowing he was screwed, he grabbed a blanket, made a rope, and went down to the second floor. He wanted to go to the first, but heard us begin to come out of our rooms. So he quickly pulled the blanket down, and took it with him to the First Aid Room. He grabbed a scalpel, stabbed his arm with it, then grabbed bandages. He jumped onto the bed, put the blanket over him, so the blood can hide the blood from his injury from climbing down the balcony. He then hid the scalpel under the blanket so we couldn't find it. That way, we'd think he got hurt. Instead of getting hurt after murdering Suzu. Is that all correct, Touya?"

Touya was frozen in place, "What? You... Really think it was me?!" He panicked,"Y-you can all die if you guess wrong, you know that, right?!"

The room grew silent as Mononuki spoke up, "Time to vote! Who do you think did it?!" It was still silent as the votes were cast. The roulette wheel spun, landing on Touya. Mononuki spoke again, "Did you think it was the Ultimate Youtube Star, Touya?! Well, you'd be right!"

Touya turned pale, wide-eyed at what happened.

"Touya... Why?" Rio asked. She looked disappointed and depressed.

Touya panicked,"I-I didn't want to do it! I was panicked! Mononuki was telling me that my videos weren't getting released. People were starting to not care about me! My job is my life! If I came out of this a nobody, I'd have nothing! I was scared! I-I left my room and went to the balcony hoping it'd leave me alone. But then Suzu came. She did her usual sass, but she went too far. She told me I was nothing either way. I-I know now that she was just being her usual self. She didn't mean it to actually hurt me. But I blew up, and yelled at her. I backed her into the balcony. I was blinded... I shoved her, but I thought she'd just fall back a bit. I... I didn't think I'd kill her." He shrunk back, seeming genuinely upset over the matter, "I just... Didn't want to be forgotten."

No one felt good about this event. It was Mononuki's fault this time. But that didn't matter. Even if accidental, Touya still killed Suzu. And so, punishment was to be had.

"Well, Sad story aside, you still killed poor baby Suzu!" Mononuki said, "It's time for punishment! Everyone, get ready!" It smiled, as the ground under Touya opened up, dropping him to his downfall. Akihisa gently pulled Rio close, trying to shelter her from what was going to happen. Haru just mumbled,"Not again..."


	8. Execution 2: Subscribe to Hell

Touya found himself in a pretty basic but dull bedroom. There was a single laptop on a table, already turned on. He walked towards it, confused. As he moved closer, the light got brighter and brighter. Until finally, he stared at the bedroom, now inside the computer. He glanced down to see he was in a youtube video. He panicked as a Mononuki with a camera went over to him. Then another came by. They circled him, making sure he knew that they were going to make this live. All of his fans were going to see him die. He even noticed a live light on, knowing it was in real time. He suddenly noticed words appearing on the screen. A chat section of people asking what was going on. He tried to smile for them, but his fear was obvious. The chat section suddenly got cruel. People were saying things like "This guy? So boring." and "I hope his death is bad. Lol." It got worse and worse.

Touya looked heartbroken. He was used to some harsh comments, but some of the usernames were of people who really looked up to him. They were all now death threats, everyone commenting to just end his life already. His subscriber count was going down rapidly. The dislikes were going up increasingly, too. Touya wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know why everyone suddenly hated him. He fought back tears, until suddenly one of the Mononukis giggled, and hit his leg with a baseball bat covered in messy nails. He screamed and fell to the floor. Suddenly, the dislikes were turning into likes. He shook, in pain. The Mononukis noticed the count go up, and also that the red bar showing the length of the video was running out. So they began to kick him, wanting him to do something more fun for his viewers. Touya stumbled to his feet, still in pain but again tried to smile for his audience. This caused the dislikes to start going up again, until one of the Mononukis grabbed a gun, shooting him a few times, making sure to miss vital spots. Screaming again, Touya could barely see through the tears. The likes were going up, and he finally just accepted that no one liked him anymore. He walked over, knowing he was going to die anyways, and snatched the gun from the Mononuki. He tried his best to smile for the camera as he pointed the gun at his head, killing himself. The video then ended as the autoplay started up.


	9. Sickness and Trauma

Another execution. It was too much for some people to handle. Akihisa held onto Rio, who at this point has gone silent. He guided her off, "Let's go. We're not needed here anymore," He spoke softly, worried about her. She was shaking, but almost seemed calm.

Haru said, "Still not fun..." He looked disappointed. These executions didn't interest him. The murders did, but not the executions.

The silence continued for another moment until Mononuki spoke up, "It's so sad! All of Touya's hard work, destroyed and ripped away. His life's purpose meant nothing since death was inevitable."

That struck something with Haru. All his works. All the works in progress he had. Were they all for nothing now? He stared down.

But it didn't hit him as hard as it hit poor Miho, both traumatized from the constant gruesome deaths and the fact that she realized that her work was useless now. They couldn't get out, and she couldn't finalize her work. So no one would even see it. She dropped to her knees, eyes wide.

Banri walked over, kneeling down by her,"Miho, it's just trying to upset us. We'll get out of here, okay?" All she could do is shakingly nod. But despite his sweet words, Miho didn't seem to cheer up at all.

A sore sense of despair stuck with everyone.

Only a day went by, and Haru was eating lunch with everyone. He had been feeling a bit sleepy all day, but didn't really make it a big deal. But suddenly, everything slowly burned and turned black. He heard a commotion, but just couldn't focus on the words being spoken. When his eyes opened, all he could see is Ryuu's face close to his. He looked confused, "Ryuu?"

"Stay still, I'm checking for signs of sickness. I'm sure it's just a flu, but you can never be too sure." He said with an irritated sigh.

Chizuru spun herself on the doctor's chair, "You fainted. We all panicked, but luckily Ryuu used to be a doctor."

Haru felt hot. He managed to ask, "Aren't you an animal doctor though?"

Ryuu said,"I used to work with humans. But humans piss me off. At least the worst I have to deal with are pet owners. And usually they aren't bad since I'm helping their babies." He shoved a thermometer into Haru's mouth, "Under your tongue and hold still." Haru huffed at that. Ryuu waited for the beep, then sighed, "Still high. You're going to need to stay here for the night at least. I'll ask Emiri to help."

"I can-"

"No, Chizuru, you'd drug him."

"Drugs help sicknesses!"

"Not ones that will turn him green!" Ryuu snapped back. The two bickered for a few moments until Ryuu finally agreed to let her make a pain medicine that will take down the fever. Sadly for Haru, Ryuu never said she couldn't experiment a bit. But since Haru was so sick, he didn't even care. He took the medicine.

Chizuru walked out to see a concerned Emiri. Emiri asked, "Is he okay? Is the medicine helping?"

"Yeah, Although I played with it a bit. Not sure what side effects it will have but I'm excited to find out!" She nearly sung her words, excited, "I'm gonna go get my notebook!" She ran off.

Emiri frowned and entered the room. Haru was still asleep. She hesitated, but then quietly put her hand on his cheek, "Haru? Are you okay?"

Amethyst eyes opened, and Haru smiled in a manner that almost seemed drunk, "Emi, my beautiful wife!" He just started to laugh, obviously messed up from the meds.

Emiri just sighed, moving her hand, "Chizuru, really...?" She mumbled, then let her attention fall back onto him, "Are you in pain at all?"

"Nope! I'm on a cloud!" Haru said, flailing his arms up, letting them fall back at him.

"I see... Well, I'm sorry. Hopefully you feel better soon." She softly smiled, petting him.

"Hey Emi! Let's continue to be close after all this is over!" He grinned.

Emiri looked at him, and giggled a bit, "Only if you'd like that. You're the strangest person I've ever met. And I'm a psychologist."

A day passed. Haru was still sick. So Emiri went to the bar to see Akihisa there, pouring himself a drink.

"Mind making me one?"

"How strong?"

"Doesn't matter."

He nodded and made her a drink, silent.

"What's wrong? You have something on your mind, it seems." Emiri asked, giving him a soft smile.

Akihisa hesitated, then said, "Rio's been acting a bit odd. I think seeing Suzu dead was too much for her mind to handle."

"Odd? How so?" Emiri asked, confused.

"Well, she has been pretty set on the thought no one else will die. She also hasn't wanted to be alone since then. Right now she's with Keiju since he asked for her help making pancakes. But I haven't really been alone." He explained.

Emiri thought for a moment, then said, "Well, everyone handles trauma differently. That's what I've been studying. She's going into some form of protective denial in order to keep herself comfortable. It's not really dangerous, but it's not healthy either. She probably needs some time to cope." She took the drink he handed to her, and took a sip, "I'd just suggest being there for her. Rio really adores the others. So each death is putting an emotional toll on her."

"I see. Thanks, Emiri. It helps knowing what you think, considering your job. Honestly, I'm feeling that emotional toll myself. The only people here handling it decently are the ones who are already fucked up." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Suzu was a good kid deep inside. Knowing meeting us brought her happiness that she never got to feel makes me feel bad that she died."

"But if this hadn't happened, would she ever feel that?" Emiri asked, thinking to herself.

"Hm? That's... A very positive way of thinking. I'm not sure. I'd hope so." Akihisa answered, leaning onto the bar. He calmed himself, giving a small chuckle, "Isn't it my job to listen to your problems?"

"I don't have any problems. Other than getting out of here." She said simply, "I don't like the deaths, but there's nothing I can do about them." The two smiled at each other.

Akihisa pulled himself up, and said, "I should head over to the cafe."

"I'll come with. I'm hungry too." Emiri said. They both walked down the steps to the first floor, but stopped to see a strange sight.

Banri and Ryuu were fighting over something, with poor Miho in the middle trying to diffuse the fight.

Banri glared, "You got some nerve!"

"Like I said, I don't have time for your stupidity, I have important things to do." He glared.

"Like what?! Frolicking like a fairytale princess?!" Banri snapped.

Ryuu said, "Your insults mean nothing to me. You're too stupid to properly think of a good comeback. So please leave me alone."

"You asshole!" Banri was really fired up, and pushed him without thinking. Ryuu fell back, landing on his ankle the wrong way.

"Shit, You idiot! Is violence really all you're good at?!" Ryuu snapped.

Banri was already blinded and punched him, knocking him out. That's when Miho grabbed his arm,"Please stop!" She yelled, worried, "I think you broke his ankle!"

Banri snapped out of it, "Ah... My bad... He just pissed me off..." He felt bad, "I'll get him back to the first aid room."

"What happened?" Akihisa asked.

Miho responded, "Banri was trying to tell Ryuu that Haru shouldn't be drugged up, and worded it the wrong way, so Ryuu thought he was insulting his methods. They started to bicker and it escalated."

Banri said, "I wanted them to at least stop letting Chizuru do as she pleases." He sighed, as Akihisa helped him bring Ryuu off.

Emiri said,"we should probably have someone watch him. He might have a concussion."

"I could." Miho said timidly, "I have nothing else to do anyways."

Emiri replied, "Really? Thanks, Miho. We'll help you out all we can. Haru's still sick anyways."

Ryuu woke up to see Miho tending to his ankle. He just spoke, "Thanks, Miho. You're very sweet."

Miho jumped a bit, "Oh you're awake! How are you feeling?"

"Not too bad. Still in pain, but I'm fine." His reply sounded rather calm, tired, "Really, thanks."

"It's nothing. I have nothing to do anyways."

"Mononuki's words really got to you, didn't they?"

"...I can't do my work anymore. I don't know what to do. That was my life's work... I.. Feel like I don't have a purpose anymore..." She hesitated, then shook herself, "Chizuru left you medicine. Let me get it for you." It took her a few moments, but she hesitantly handed it to him.

Ryuu just looked at her and spoke calmly, "Hopefully I can help." He gave a tiny smile, looking at the medicine and then drank it.

A few hours later, Chizuru and Yuma walked with Emiri.

"How is Ryuu?" Yuma asked calmly,

Emiri said, "He's fine. Miho has been taking care of him, and under his instruction has even taken care of Haru. She's working hard." She smiled.

Chizuru smiled and said, "I left medicine for her to give him, so he should be fine. If he trusts me enough to take it."

"Banri feels bad about it. He went to apologize and the two seemed fine with each other." Emiri said, "I'm glad everyone's getting along."

Miho was coming back from getting some orange juice for Ryuu and Haru, "Hello everyone." She said softly, still seeming rather tired.

Emiri said, "Ah. Miho. We were just going to go see Ryuu. How is he?"

"He was doing well last time I saw. He just needs to rest his ankle." Miho responded happily.

The door opened, and all that was heard was Haru's loud snoring. But the four went silent seeing Ryuu in bed, a scalpel stabbed into his heart. Yuma immediately pulled Chizuru over, "Shit not another."

Miho turned extremely pale, silent as the body found announcement could be heard. Ryuu was dead, although it seemed rather fresh still. He was pale, but it seemed his tears were mixed with blood, and his veins were nearly purple. There was no saving him.


	10. Trial 3

Author's note: Sorry for the long break! I went on vacation! Remember to check Tumblr for pics!

Another murder had taken place. A sense of despair filled the air as they realized slowly that it was pointless. Unless they were free, more people would die. Miho was sobbing, and Yuma and Chizuru were inspecting the body carefully.

"You think...?" Yuma mumbled softly to her.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Chizuru replied with ease. The two spoke as if they could read each other. Neither told anyone else what they had confirmed. Instead, Chizuru gave her typical smile and said, "Well? What are ya'll waiting for? Start investigating, sillies, or we're gonna die!"

Emiri frowned, and walked over to the snoring Haru. She shook his shoulder, "Haru? Are you feeling better?"

"Whaaaa?" Was the loud noise that came from the writer's mouth. Disoriented, he smiled, "Hello Emi! I feel lots better today. Miho helped!" He pointed to Miho, then slowly noticed her pale sobs, "Hey, why is Miho crying?" He didn't really give anyone time to answer. He glanced around until he saw Ryuu, but couldn't see much from his view, "Ryuu? Why is Miho crying?" Silence. Yuma was about to speak up, but Emiri quickly spoke up to avoid shocking Haru too badly.

"He's dead, Haru. We're going to start investigating. Do you want a different place to rest?" She asked with a soft frown.

"Whoa, Really? I mean, I know Ryuu is rude, but really?" Haru yawned, getting up, "Nah, I feel better now. Just sleepy." He looked at the body, "So he was stabbed to death?"

"No no, that's not it! You really think it was like that?" Chizuru asked, spinning around on the nurse's swivel chair,

"What do you mean?" Haru replied, confused.

"Look at his veins! Look at the dried tears! That dude was poisoned!"

"Chizuru, you could've said that in a more respectful manner." Yuma said with a sigh, "But yes, that makes the most sense."

Emiri picked up a sketchbook, "Oh. Banri left this here..."

Haru said, "I wanna see!" He skimmed through it. On the last page was a grey skull with heart-shaped holes in it. Haru said, "Dark. Cool. I want a cool tattoo too!" Yuma and Chizuru looked at each other, confused.

Emiri said," Is that so? Miho, when was the last time Banri was here?"

"Right before I left and met up with you guys." Miho said through her tears. She was still shaking, terrified, and felt useless at this time.

Yuma helped her up to her feet, "Hey, We'll figure this out. Go lay down. You won't be much help if all you can do is cry."

Chizuru pushed the chair to roll to Yuma, hugging his arm, "Yeah, We got this! No worries!"

Miho wiped a tear from her eye, "Thanks... I just feel bad because... Maybe I could've stopped it."

About an hour of investigating later, Haru walked back into the nurse's office. He looked in to see Chizuru with her hands on Yuma's shoulders. She was leaning onto him in a rather suggestive manner, and his gaze was mostly staring away. He glanced at her every once in a while as they whispered softly to each other. Haru, being the obnoxious asshole he was, grinned and said, "You know, people want to investigate."

Yuma turned bright red and shot Haru a glare that could shoot through someone's soul. He said, "Mind your own business. Everyone already investigated. We're just here to make sure the killer doesn't try to hide, or destroy evidence." In an irritated manner, he drummed his fingers on Chizuru's hips lightly.

Chizuru smiled, "It's not like we were gonna do it. We were just flirting anyways!" She chirped happily.

Haru just grinned, "Glad you guys are coping." He walked over, looking at Ryuu's body, "Something doesn't seem right. Was he crying because of the pain...?" He seemed more curious than anything.

Chizuru's smile faded for a moment, then was about to speak. It was then the announcements came on. They had to go to the trial. There was nothing else they could do until the trial begins.

Everyone gathered up. It was time to find Ryuu's killer, and hope that they didn't make the wrong choice. The room was, as usual, tense and quiet.

Mononuki decided to start it off, "The victim was Ryuu, the ultimate veterinarian! So, let's talk motive? Or maybe murder weapon? Or location? Or let's just accuse people!"

Haru decided to start, "So... Was Ryuu killed by the blade?" He asked, confused.

Chizuru spoke up, "No no! Remember what I told you!" She huffed.

Emiri replied, "It was poison, right? His veins, and tears..."

Chizuru nodded, "Yeah, that's right! It was a poison I left in the nurse's office that I call Chemical X! It is a slow poison with a sweet taste!"

"Why...did you make that?" Banri asked, concerned.

"Just in case. Never know if you have to kill someone."

"Wait!" Haru said, "Slow? Like, how slow?"

Chizuru said,"Well, a few hours. So he probably took it shortly after waking up after being knocked unconscious by Banri."

"So, who visited him?" Haru asked, and glanced over at Miho.

Miho said, "Well, you were sick so you were there. I was helping him. Banri, Chizuru, and Yuma all visited him too."

Fuka said, "So it's one of those!" She grinned, "Isn't it obvious then? Banri was pissed at Ryuu, so he killed him!"

Keiju said, "W-what?!"

Banri said,"Excuse me?! I didn't kill him!"

Akihisa said, "You did fight..."

Banri said, "But that doesn't mean shit!"

Haru thought for a moment, then pulled out the sketchbook, "Then why was this in the nurse's room?"

Banri flinched a bit, and said, "I was sketching out a design while waiting for him to wake up! I... wanted to apologize for fighting with him." He stared down, "But I didn't kill him! I didn't even know there was poison in there!" He huffed, and kept talking, "Mayu walked by and asked how he was doing! She would've seen it!"

Mayu jumped a bit at her name being called, then said, "I-I didn't see anything strange." She nervously played with one of her braids.

"What about Chizuru?" Keiju asked, "She was the one who made the poison..."

"Oh please! Ryuu was a medical professional! He would've known and there's no way he'd trust me enough to drink it!" Chizuru said in a bitter tone, "Plus, I was learning to cook with Rio."

Rio gave a small nod, "That's true. I taught her how to make pancakes. It was... very tiring." She tried to give a polite smile about it.

Akihisa sighed and said, "So it wasn't Chizuru. That would be a bit too easy anyways." He ignored Chizuru's finger guns at him.

"So then, who could've done it?" Keiju asked, worried.

"What about Haru? He was always in the room. And he was sick so he could've mixed something up." Miho said.

"Nah, Haru's too stupid." Akihisa said, "Plus, like Chizuru, Ryuu wouldn't have trusted him enough for him to drink anything he gives him."

"...What about Miho?" Rio asked with a sad frown.

"M-Me? W-why would I kill him?" Miho responded, terrified.

"Well, Ryuu trusts you, so he might've drank whatever you gave him." Chizuru said, "Plus, now that we know he didn't die immediately from the stab, you could've done it."

Miho flinched, "But... I didn't..."

Haru perked up, "It's possible though. Miho's last game was "Cutie Doctor Kiki." It was a dark game with cute visuals, about a doctor who killed her patients in order to free them from their pain. It's possible Miho had that mentality from writing that script, and decided to spare Ryuu."

Miho said, "But I can't trick anyone! Chizuru said it herself, he was a medical professional! He wouldn't have taken something from me knowing it was poison!" She was shaking and pale, "It wouldn't make sense."

"We found the bottle of poison in your room." Akihisa said with a sigh. Rio just stared away, silent.

"E-either way, he wouldn't have taken it!" Miho shouted, crying.

"But... What if Ryuu didn't want to live?" Chizuru asked, glancing away.

The room went suddenly silent. "What... do you mean?" Rio asked, pale.

"Ryuu didn't value his life too much. He was very pessimistic." Chizuru said, "Hey Mononuki, can we ask Mayu about that or is that not allowed?"

"No no, go ahead!" Mononuki sung.

Mayu stared away, then said, "He told me he...was okay with dying."

Miho could barely choke out, "What?"

Mayu just nodded and stared away, "He... said he wanted the killer to be free."

Miho suddenly just fell to her knees, "Ryuu..." She looked heartbroken.

Chizuru spoke up, "He had a soft spot for Miho. So seeing her so desperate to live and be free, he probably offered to give his life to her." She stared away.

"Are you guys ready to vote?" Mononuki asked with a smile. The silence confirmed its question. Everyone voted in near silence. The only thing people could hear was Miho's desperate crying.

Just to rub it in, Mononuki spoke again, "You're all correct! It was Miho! Ryuu didn't give a shit about his life. He saw her suffering, and told her he'd let her have a chance at leaving. The cameras caught her hesitate and try to take things back, but he drank it anyways. Then, pitying him, she stabbed him to put him out of his misery. So you were kinda wrong about him dying from the poison. He died from the stab, but the poison was supposed to kill him!"

Rio looked pale, "Miho... Why?"

Miho refused to look up, feeling guilty as hell, "I just wanted to be free. I-I figured, I'm going to die no matter what... So when he agreed to die, I...I thought I had to. I need to get out... But I guess... That was stupid." She looked lifeless, still crying, "I didn't know he really wanted to help me. He was so nice... I don't know why I did it..."

Haru frowned, and said, "This game is making everyone crazy. If someone offered to die for me, I dunno if I would've been able to think clearly either."

Emiri said, "He did it to help you. That's very sweet of him though..."

"Yeah, but too bad that doesn't mean shit anymore." Banri said bitterly.

Miho stared down, "Please execute me now. I failed him, so I deserve to die. I...I should've told him no. So I deserve this..." She could barely speak through sobs. No one could look at her without feeling anger or guilt.

Mononuki didn't seem to care about the atmosphere, "Alright! Time to punish! Let's get hyped everyone!" It hopped up happily, and pressed a button. The floor below Miho suddenly dropped, dropping her to her execution.


	11. Execution 3: Digitally Bloody

Miho opened her eyes to see what looked like her messy bedroom. She got a message about her project, so she pulled out her laptop to figure out what was going on. Her main character in the game she was working on appeared on screen, smiling at her. Miho looked confused, as the character suddenly looked bloody. The character grabbed her by her hair and yanked her into the laptop.

Miho found herself in a digital world, a green grid around her. A silly-looking Mononuki appeared, tossing her a magic wand. When she grabbed it, it let out a bright light. Somehow, she was transformed in a magical girl-esque manner. A frilly, short outfit appeared, and she looked very confused. The mononuki looked at her, smiling and suddenly ripped open its mouth, a large black creature tearing it apart and growing in size. Miho looked terrified, but thought since she was given these clothes, she must be able to fight. She waved the wand, but it did nothing. So she was left to have to try to run away. The creature suddenly stopped, glitching.

She thought she was fine until some Mononuki's appeared, grabbing at her. A few grabbed her hair, and began to pull. She noticed a menu, and the only thing available was a pair of scissors. The Mononuki's were pulling her along by her hair now. She wasn't sure what to do, but noticed they were taking her towards a pit of pixelated lava. But despite it's looks, she could feel the heat already. Desperate not to burn to death, she grabbed the scissors and quickly and messily cut her own hair, panicking. Managing to bring herself to her feet, she ran.

Miho caught site of an "Exit" door, and smiled a bit, a small shard of hope forming. But it slowly began to become pixels and the pixels flew away. This led her to nothing but a blank green wall. She turned around to see the creature, as it's arm turned into a sharp point and stabbed into her. It then yanked back, dropping her to the floor. She fell to her knees, reaching out for some form of help. Then, she finally fell over, dead.


	12. Lost and Found

Nothing seemed to change. The typical silence spread through the room. Everyone was now nervous. Did anyone else value their work more than anything else? Suspicion and cold nervousness spread through the room. No one spoke for what seemed like forever. What started out as sixteen students was now only ten scared people, wanting a way out.

Akihisa had guided Rio out once again. She was silent and pale, moving emotionlessly as if starting to become numb. The only thing that seemed to keep her together was Akihisa's warm grasp on her. They left the room, and went to Akihisa's room since it was easier to get to. He felt an uneasy feeling go through him. After each and every trial, Rio was becoming more and more quiet. He was brought to his senses by her shaking hands grabbing onto his.

"There... won't be more deaths. Don't worry. No matter what... We won't give in." Rio was shaking, barely able to make her usual smile. But those words held a darkness to them that he couldn't shake.

"I don't know. It's possible someone else could die, Ri. I..." He hesitated, feeling terrible, "I can't tell you that everything will be fine."

She shook her head, her smile becoming more visible, yet more twisted, "No no, It's fine! You don't have to tell me anything. I'll keep everyone safe, okay? I'll make sure everyone is happy. Some sweets will help, right? Just... Please don't leave me, okay?" She then shook her head again, obviously traumatized, "No, you can't leave me. I don't care what happens, you can't." It was as if she was trying to force herself to believe it.

Akihisa didn't know what to do. All he could do was pull her close. Hope that the warm embrace would calm her down enough to stop thinking whatever dark thoughts came to mind. His cheek rested on her head, avoiding her bun the best he could. He didn't know what was going to happen, and he wasn't sure that he would even be here long enough to help. But if even just this hug can help, it was the least he could do. Losing Suzu and the others was too much for the loving Rio. He knew that she had a motherly nature. One that couldn't handle the ones she came to love dying in front of her. Each execution and murder, each reasoning behind the terrible things that happened. It was all too much for her to handle. And he knew that.

One day passed by rather quickly. Haru was asleep, uneasy with thoughts. His dreams did not help at all with happy thoughts. Flashbacks of his past haunted his dreams. The past loved one he had, back turned to him. Voices calling out.

"I just can't hang out with you anymore. Everyone is creeped out by you."

"Look, it was fun, but your work freaks me out."

"Why can't you just be normal?"

Amethyst eyes quickly opened. He wasn't breathing heavily, or heart racing. He looked depressed. Those memories hurt. Haru wanted to believe he was normal. That those people were just picky. He turned onto his side, hugging the pillow next to him. He couldn't sleep, so he let his thoughts wander. Why was the mastermind doing what they were doing? Who was the mastermind? Could it really be one of the people he had met? Akihisa, Rio, Emiri, Fuka, Banri, Chizuru, Yuma, Mayu, Keiju. Could... Any of them really be the mastermind? Or was the mastermind just laughing from behind closed doors? The deaths didn't please him as much as they did before. Was this because he considers these people friends? He shut his eyes tight, gasping the soft pillow tighter.

Fast forward another day. With how the hotel was set up, it was hard to tell time and dates. The air was still full of doubt, but everyone tried yet again to be friendly. Although people were suspicious. Haru noticed it was mostly towards him. For he was the only one left who was in love with his work. He did consider the fact that his new work might never get noticed, but he didn't care. He hoped maybe the others would read it at least. He was with Emiri again. She was the most kind to him, so he liked being around her. They were considering another party. Some way to get everyone to calm down. But Emiri was obviously worried that another death would take place.

Haru smiled, "It's fine, Emi. Why would anyone commit another murder during a party? Wouldn't that be too obvious?" He asked.

She gave a tiny smile in return, calming her nerves, "Yeah. I guess it couldn't hurt." Emiri stayed by him. They then noticed Keiju, who seemed very uneasy. Emiri called out, "Keiju? Is everything okay?"

He fixed his monocle, shaking a bit, "Oh. It's you two. Have you seen a pair of headphones around here? I really need them for my work..." He kept searching around, barely giving them time to respond.

Haru looked at the confused Emiri, then looked back at Keiju, "Headphones? No. But maybe you can get another pair at the storage room? I saw some there when looking for more pens. I didn't want to waste my cute bunny pen!" He smiled.

Keiju mumbled, "Storage room? Right. Thank you." With that, he quickly left.

Emiri said, "Strange... Why does he need headphones to work on clocks? Maybe to keep him from being bored?"

Haru chuckled, "It is rather boring, isn't it?" He brushed it off, "Common, Let's ask Akihisa to make us drinks!"

Luckily, They found Akihisa already at the bar. He was listening to a stressed Mayu, while Rio happily made sandwiches as snacks.

Haru ran over,"Aki! Make us drinks!"

Akihisa said,"For fucks sake, do you ever fucking ask?"

"Nope!" Haru grinned, hugging Mayu, "Whoa, you okay Mayu?"

She timidly stared down, "Just... Tired. I still can't find Ikki's spirit, and I feel terrible that I can't help any of the other spirits. All I can do is send messages that the mastermind approves of..."

Emiri frowned, "That must be stressful."

Haru huffed, "Then let's drink away the stress! Common, Aki!"

"It's Akihisa. And fine. Jeez."

Fuka skipped along, "Free drinks? Can I have one?"

Akihisa just sighed, "Fine, why not? Anyone can have a drink. Just don't bother me when you're too drunk."

"Yay!" Fuka hopped onto a bar stool, happy.

Rio smiled, "You all can enjoy yourselves. I'm going to stay sober so I can take care of everyone. No one will get hurt, okay?"

Haru said, "Awww, thanks Rio!"

Fuka said, "But what if someone else dies while we drink?"

Rio stated again, her voice shaking just a bit, "That won't happen, dear."

Haru brushed off the dark atmosphere by taking a shot, "Yayy! Gimmie more!"

"Maybe I should stop you there." Akihisa said in an irritated manner.

Fuka took a shot herself, "More more!"

Akihisa said, "Are you both children?!"

A few shots later, Banri walked over, clothes and hair a bit wet, "Hey guys... You... are all drunk. Mind if I have some Akihisa?"

"Sure." Akihisa poured him a drink.

Rio said, "Did you just take a shower, Banri? You should really dry off a bit more."

"Mononuki popped in and scared me, so I didn't really get the chance to fully dry off." He sighed, "I saw Keiju looking around like mad. What's up with that?"

A drunk Haru said, "He was looking for headphones. He wanted to listen to some funky tunes!"

"A..Alright." Banri sighed.

Rio just smiled softly, "I'm going to go get some more snacks. Drunk people eat so much." She walked off, leaving the scene.

About two hours passed, Akihisa dragged Haru and Emiri, with Rio following them. Haru said, "Waittt! I need more pillows!"

Akihisa groaned, "You're lucky the storage room is right here." He sighed, then noticed something as they passed by the pool room. He stopped, "Oh please no." He let go of the two and went into the room,"Rio, Don't follow!"

Shocked, Rio refused, "What?! Akihisa, what are you-" She stopped, walking in to see a body in the pool, face down. There was a terrible wound in the head. In the pool face down was the body of none other than Chizuru, the Ultimate Chemist.

Haru held Emiri's hand, pulling them inside. Haru said, "Whoa, she's dead!"

Akihisa said, "No shit, Sherlock!" He glared, "Shit!"

The room froze as a cold voice said, "Which one of you did it?"


	13. Trial 4

"Which one of you did it?" The cold voice asked again. Everyone turned to see Yuma, standing there with a glare that could cut through steel. He pushed through them, jumping into the bloodied water to retrieve her body. He carefully put it down, dead silent. Yuma picked up the flower hairclip she wore, and pinned it to the collar of his blazer. His expression changed to an extremely soft one, as he gently brushed a bit of hair out of her face. He quietly mumbled, "I'm sorry. I wish I could've helped you."

Rio tried to touch his shoulder, "Yuma..."

Instead, he smacked her hand away, turning cold again, "Don't touch me. One of you fuckers killed my Chizuru. Whoever it is better be ready to be executed. If anyone messes with her body anymore, I will kill everyone here, even if I may die too."

Emiri blinked tightly, trying to think, and said, "Yuma... Chizuru wouldn't want that. She thought of everyone as friends... Ask Mayu..."

Yuma glared at them, "Friends don't kill friends. Now get out of my way." He silently investigated alone.

Rio said, "How about Akihisa and I watch the body this time?"

Akihisa nodded, "Yeah, that's probably best. Are you two sobering up?"

Haru said, "Yeah, I'm losing the fun warm feeling..." He sighed.

Emiri nodded in return, "Yes. It's just a bit harder to focus."

So the two began to investigate. Haru stared at a poster nearby. Something about it was off, but his drunk mind couldn't figure out what.

Emiri looked at him, then sighed, and answered for him, "Pull the poster off."

Haru did so, to see a bloody stain on the wall, with blood that had dripped down. He was obviously staring at the dripping blood before. He said, "Ah. So this is where the culprit smashed her head."

Emiri nodded, "Seems so."

Haru said, "So whoever it was... They were super strong to be able to do that. Chizuru isn't small. Plus she's kinda athletic. So grabbing her and slamming her head against the wall is hard, unless the person is strong."

The two were searching the dressing rooms. In the boys one, Haru found a towel on the ground. He looked at it, silent. He then jumped seeing Mononuki right next to him. "Whoa!"

Mononuki said, "Oops! Didn't mean to scare ya! Just wanted to let you in on a nice hint! Everyone has their name embroidered onto a towel just for the pool! It was a gift to everyone! I totally forgot to tell people, except for a few who wanted to swim!"

Haru said, "Ah, so whoevers towel this is must've just used it. It's just a bit damp..." He looked back to see Mononuki gone. Confused, Haru walked back out to wait for Emiri to be done checking through the girl's dressing room.

Emiri appeared after a few minutes, and looked at Haru, "Did you find anything?"

Haru said, "Perhaps... Everyone has an embroidered towel. Did you find any in the girls room?"

Emiri said, "Really? Well, I did find Rio's..."

Haru thought about it, "Interesting... Let's go check out the crime scene one more time, okay?"

Emiri nodded, and the two went back to the main pool room.

They explored around the pool area. Haru happened to stop, seeing a water bottle in the trash can. It was hidden by a half crumpled piece of blank paper with a small splatter mark on it. He moved it, taking the water bottle and checked it out. He noticed there was a hint of green at the very bottom of it. He went over to Emiri, "Hey, let's go to Chizuru's room." He had ideas in his mind, but he wanted to double check.

Chizuru's room was oddly normal. It was neat, with pretty flowers in the vase on her desk. Haru looked around, confused, "Huh..."

Emiri said, "I was expecting it to be messy like yours."

Haru said, "Mine isn't too messy!" He huffed, leaning back and flinched as his back touched a hidden button. A door opened to show a room full of chemicals.

Emiri said, "W...Wow... Does... Everyone have a secret room? Or just Chizuru?" They looked through the room.

Haru stopped, seeing a bottle on one of the desks. It was full of green liquid. He picked it up, putting it in the pocket of his hoodie, "I think I've seen what I needed to see. Let's go before Yuma kills us." He smiled.

"Of course." Emiri smiled softly in return, as they left.

Soon, The trial had begun. Everyone gathered up again, although they had a lot less people than before. The sad portraits of the dead were placed where they once stood. Haru knew that this had to happen. Someone else will be executed when this trial was done. And... He already knew who did it.

The trial started off as usual, with alibis trying to be called out. Haru, Akihisa, Rio, Emiri, Fuka, and Mayu were all drinking together. Banri had joined them. Keiju was looking around for headphones. Yuma claimed to be taking a walk around the second floor. It seemed like no one did it. But obviously, someone was lying. Something happened that night. But what?

"So... Did she die by the wound, or by drowning?" Emiri asked, confused.

Yuma looked cold,"By the wound. The wound wasn't too wet when I grabbed her. So she wasn't drowned. It's obvious that someone cracked her head open, then threw her in the pool." He looked like he was ready to attack someone.

Haru said, "I agree with that. There's also proof of it. Hidden behind the poster by the pool is a blood splatter!" He looked thoughtful, "So it would make sense that the culprit smashed her head in, and then threw her into the pool."

Emiri said, "So... Who doesn't have an alibi?"

Fuka perked up, "It was Keiju! We saw him all suspiciously running around! Headphones aren't needed to fix clocks!"

Keiju said, "W-what?! I can't hurt anyone!" He panicked, "I was looking around for headphones! I didn't even go to the pool!"

Akihisa said, "Did anyone see you close to the time of death?"

Rio said, "Ah! I did see him on my way to the cafe!"

Keiju took a deep breath, "Exactly!" He adjusted his monocle, "I didn't even see Chizuru..."

Akihisa sighed, "Well, if it wasn't Keiju, then who?"

"It could be Yuma! A crime of passion!" Haru said, seeming confident.

Yuma walked over, grabbing him by his ahoge, "Tell me one more time that I'd kill Chizuru."

Haru sobbed, "Well maybe you were scared she was gonna leave if we get away!"

Yuma just yanked on his ahoge, "Do you even have a brain?"

"No. He doesn't. Ignore him." Akihisa said with a heavy sigh.

Yuma let go of Haru, huffing. Haru tried again, "It could be Rio then! She's been acting weird, and she did leave around that time!"

Akihisa smacked him, "Rio came right back! There was no time for her to kill anyone!"

Rio frowned, "I said no one would die. I wouldn't let anyone else die... I let my guard down... So maybe it is my fault."

Akihisa smacked Haru one more time then went over to comfort her. "Nah, you did fine." He said to her, worried.

Rio said, "Then... Who would do it?"

Emiri looked at Haru, "Um.. Despite the bump on your head, do you know?"

Haru nodded, rubbing his head. His ahoge deflated, "Yeah. I think so. You see, the biggest sign was the towel I found in the boys dressing room. Mononuki said that we each got one. With our name embroidered on it."

"So, whoever killed her dropped their towel?" Fuka asked.

Haru said, "I think so."

"What was the name on it?" Akihisa asked, cold.

"Banri."

Banri jumped a bit, "Hey! Anyone could've grabbed my towel to prove it was me! Isn't that unfair to blame me on just a towel?!" He exclaimed.

"That's true." Haru said with a frown.

Emiri said, "There might be another way to confirm Banri was near the pool." She glanced at Haru, and slowly dusted off her skirt, then fixed her braid.

Haru somehow understood, "Ah! When Banri came to drink with us, he was a bit damp! As if he was around water!"

"What? I told you I took a shower! It was a coincidence!" Banri seemed uneasy.

"You seemed very uneasy while you drank with us, Banri." Emiri said.

"Oh he was shaking a bit!" Fuka excitedly exclaimed.

Keiju frowned, "But maybe it was a coincidence."

"No, It was Banri." Yuma spoke up, "I spoke to Mononuki about the towel situation. The only way to get your special towel is to use your phone to unlock it. Unless you're saying someone stole your phone."

"I saw him playing on his phone before the trial..." Mayu said with a frown.

Banri said, "Those are small details. We all will die if you come to a quick conclusion!"

Yuma said, "Then perhaps we should focus on one last detail. Haru noticed it first, oddly enough."

Haru said, "Huh? Me?"

Yuma said, "The trash."

Haru perked up, "Oh yeah! Wait, you saw that?!"

Yuma nodded, "Yeah. But that water bottle shows that Chizuru tried to drug someone."

Keiju said, "Are you sure?"

Emiri said,"Yes. We found a bit of liquid in it that was green, then we went into Chizuru's room and found the same chemical. So, Yuma, Who did Chizuru say she hasn't tried to drug yet?"

Yuma looked dark, "Emiri and Banri. But she said Emiri doesn't seem like a fun person to drug."

Haru said, "So... I think I got it."

Banri said, "See? It could've been Emiri!"

Haru frowned, "The water bottle was covered by a piece of blank paper. The only blank paper I can remember is your sketchbook for your designs. There was even an ink splatter on it."

Banri said, "That...doesn't say anything."

Haru said,"No! Let's look at it from the beginning. I think I know what happened, so listen up." He cleared his throat. "So, Chizuru was playing around in her lab, and decided to play around. We all know Chizuru loved to try to drug us for interesting reactions, and for her research. It was irritating, but she never really meant harm since she knew those chemicals like the back of her hand. She decided to mess around and drug Banri, and used her phone to see that he was swimming in the pool. So she drugged a bottle of water, and went to nicely offer it to him. Banri is the type to get distracted, and probably completely forgot Chizuru's mischievous nature." He frowned, "Now, I don't know what exactly happened next, but it seems Banri didn't react well to the chemical, and lashed out, slamming her head against the wall. When he realized she was dead, he pushed her body in the pool in hopes someone would think she drowned herself. He then tried to cover the blood splatter, and the other evidence. Then, to get himself an alibi, he came right up to drink with us. He wanted a way to forget what happened, and he was afraid he was going to get found out. Is that right, Banri?"

Banri froze, "I-It's not my fault! She went too far!" He stared away.

Mononuki said, "Voting time everyone!" The room was silent for a moment, as people hesitantly voted. No one wanted to bring another person to death, but it had to be done.

Mononuki waited as the wheel spun, then grinned, "You're all right! Banri killed Chizuru! Isn't that funny?"

Keiju said, "But... Why kill her? You could've just yelled at her, or told Yuma to tell her not to. She'd listen to him."

Yuma looked cold, "I'd like to hear your reason as well, otherwise I'm going to execute you myself."

Banri stared away still, "I don't..."

"It's simple!" Mononuki said, "Banri is traumatized!"

"Hey!" Banri flinched, "How do you even know these things?!"

Mononuki continued, "Banri was often drugged by his so-called parents so they can do what they want, and he'd be forced to sleep. Just so they can leave the house and not have to care for their son! It was always forced, and that fear of having no choice made him blind. So when Chizuru drugged him, He got blinded with fear and rage! Poor little Chizuru didn't know about this fear since Banri never said anything, so when he suddenly snapped and grabbed her, it was too late for her."

Banri stared away, a look of depression on his face.

Yuma turned away, "I'm done here. Just finish things up so we can leave."

Haru said, "Jeez, everyone here has such dark backstories."

Emiri frowned, "Banri..."

But no matter what anyone said or did, nothing mattered. The ground below Banri seemed to disappear. He fell down, faster and faster into what seemed like endless darkness.


	14. Execution 4: Chains and Roses

Banri finally landed, and the lights came on to show him in a room covered in off-white papers. He looked around, confused. A Mononuki slowly made its way over, holding a syringe with some sort of drug in it. Banri looked very pale and sick at this time. He could barely choke out a simple, "Please don't." It was too late, the Mononuki stabbed his thigh with it.

Another Mononuki grabbed his hand, and directed him to where two people sat, showing him two designs and handed him a tattoo gun. It was two simple X marks, and the bodies were already marked. He was confused, since the faces were somehow shadowed so he couldn't see who they were. He hesitated, but then a Mononuki stabbed his back with a pen. Banri flinched, but was too afraid to not listen and just did the tattoo. He noticed the gun seemed a bit off, and the ink gave off a weird smell. But that didn't matter, he got stabbed again, so he continued to try to avoid getting stabbed in the back again. He felt dizzy, and he couldn't focus due to whatever drug.

When he was done, the bodies fell, showing what looked to him like his parents. They were completely dead, and to his horror, the ink seemed to be mixed with some sort of acidic poison, so their flesh where he had worked started to bleed. He looked sick, falling back, and crawled away to not have to see the sight. It was then the tattoos on his arms seemed to come to life. The chains on one arm grabbed him and held him down, and the thorny vine of the rose on his other did the same. He flinched, as the thorns dug into his skin. He fell, rolling over and laying down, "No..." A circle of Mononukis appeared, all holding syringes with bright-colored chemicals. The scene ended to the Mononuki's stabbing him to death with the syringes.


	15. What's Going On?

How many more deaths must happen for this to stop? This time, there wasn't much conversation. Yuma touched the flower clip on his collar, and said, "This will end soon. I can promise you that. Whichever of you is the mastermind, I will stop you. You've gone too far." With that, he left, leaving a silent room.

That night, Haru walked into his room. He hesitated, seeing something seemed off. Walking to his desk, he noticed there was something behind the vase on it. A button. He clicked it and a door opened. The author knew that Chizuru had a special room, so was this his? He expected to see notebooks, and ink, and pens. But what was behind the door took him by surprise. Along every wall was different weapons. Most with blood on them. As he wandered the room, he saw that many of the weapons had notes attached, explaining to him how they were used to kill. His heart raced, and he noticed a single note on the ground.

_Hello Haru,_

_I hope you use this room as you'd like. I'll be waiting for a wonderful end to this game._

It was such a small note, but he felt himself shake with excitement. He wandered to a table full of jars. Human organs, perfect for describing. Every piece of this room, as horrible as it was, gave him inspiration. He spun around, starting to smile in a daze, "Ah... I could use this..." He said ever so softly. "I don't know what you want, Mastermind. But thank you for the inspiration. I'll make this game end in a way worthy of my world." He put a hand on his cheek, dreamily.

The next morning, it was the same as before, but the air seemed tense. Everyone seemed to be on edge. Yuma had decided to stay away from the others, wanting to solve this mystery for Chizuru's sake. Mayu was overwhelmed by the constant stress of knowing too much, but not being able to help, so she was starting to become ill. So Fuka took her to go lay down. Keiju was doing decently well, but hasn't been working on any of the little clocks the mastermind left for him. Rio was getting worse, but Akihisa was by her side to try to keep her calm.

That ends with Emiri and Haru, both doing decently well considering neither really feared what could happen. Emiri gave a tiny smile, as Haru walked into the cafe, "Hey."

"Hey!" Haru sleepily replied, with a normal smile. Today, he wore his glasses, since he didn't want to strain his eyes too much.

"Seems like there's only eight of us left..."

"Hopefully we can all manage to get out." Haru kept his smile, pouring some coffee. He took a big sip.

Emiri said,"Hopefully..."

That's when Rio walked out with a big smile, "Don't worry dears. No one else will die."

Akihisa followed her, "Rio, please."

"It's okay, Akihisa. I will end this, even if I must die myself. I cannot have another of you die, understand?" She had a dark aura around her usual smile. It was almost chilling.

"Whoa whoa, what is she talking about?" Haru asked, confused.

Akihisa said, "Rio believes that if she can break into the room that's locked in the ballroom, we might find something about the mastermind."

"But what if the mastermind finds out and gets angry?" Emiri asked.

Rio smiled, "Then I shall reveal them, and let everyone free."

Haru said, "But what if the mastermind kills everyone?"

Rio suddenly frowned, "Is...it really hopeless? I don't want anyone else to die... Why is this mastermind doing this?"

Akihisa held onto her again, "Rio, Let's sit down, okay? You've been working yourself too far..."

They were stunned when the monitors lit up. Mononuki appeared on the screen, and said, "Hey kids! Let's speed this up, okay? If no one kills by nighttime, you will all be punished! It won't be a deadly punishment, but it will make your life harder!"

Rio looked pale, "Punished...?"

Akihisa said, "It seems like they're trying to motivate one of us to kill. I'd stay away from the others for now. People are becoming unstable. Rio, you should stay in your room. It's not safe."

Rio said, "But..."

Akihisa just shook his head, "It's for our safety. Until tomorrow, go into your room." He led her off.

Haru said, "Will... anyone kill?"

Emiri said, "I'm not sure..." She looked worried.

After Rio and Akihisa left, Yuma walked in. He looked at the two, "You heard that, right? What sort of fucked up shit is that? It hasn't even been a day."

Haru said, "I think the mastermind is trying to drive people to insanity. If we're given time to grieve, we might become stronger or more comfortable. But by pressuring death to happen faster and faster, we're getting more and more uneasy. Mayu hasn't been able to properly sleep due to her pressure. Everyone here isn't handling it well."

Yuma said, "Honestly, that's the most intelligent thing that has ever come out of your mouth." He sighed and gently put a hand onto the flower, "This is going to end soon. There's not many of us left, so we either take the mastermind down, or we allow ourselves to die."

Emiri smiled softly, "I trust that you won't kill."

Yuma said, "For her sake, I won't. But I won't hesitate to fight back if someone attacks me. Let that be known. I'll be staying in Chizuru's room. I've already told the other girls that. If you need me, feel free to come over. But as I said, It would be a foolish move to try to kill me."

Haru said, "What a good guy!" Yuma rolled his eyes, and went along.

Nighttime was almost upon us at this time. Fuka grinned, holding Mayu's hand, "So, what do you think will happen?"

Haru said, "Not sure..."

Mayu frowned, "It's too much..." She stared down, "Where is everyone else?"

Emiri said, "Mostly everyone is in their rooms. Since it's late and all. We should head there too. We don't know what this punishment will bring."

Haru said, "Do...you think it really wouldn't be harmful?"

Fuka said, "It's probably zombies."

Haru said, "That would be so amazing!"

Mayu said, "T-there's no such thing!"

Emiri just giggled a bit, "I'm sure it's not."

The night time announcement came on, followed by a quick statement.

Mononuki smiled, "Oh, and no one has died. That's seriously sad. So you all should be punished. Your punishment will be... really just annoying!" A loud tick-tock sound started to play, like a ticking clock. Mononuki continued, "Until someone dies, you will all hear this loud ticking! Hope it doesn't drive anyone mad!"

Haru said, "That is annoying. But would someone seriously kill out of annoyance?"

"Akihisa?" Fuka joked.

Haru said, "I should lock my door tonight then." He grinned, playing along.

Mayu said, "I think I'm going to pick up some ear plugs in the storage room..."

Fuka said, "I'll go with!" She led Mayu off.

With that, Emiri smiled at Haru, "Hope you can sleep through it."

Haru nodded, "I could sleep through anything, honestly." He chuckled.

The night seemed to go by fast, despite the noise making it hard for some to sleep. Haru woke up to... the ticking gone. He seemed confused, but figured maybe the mastermind got bored of it. He got out of his room, seeing Akihisa getting out of his room. Haru joked, "Hey, I think someone died."

Akihisa said, "That's not funny, Haru." The two got onto the elevator.

Haru kept his grin, "Gonna see Rio?"

Akihisa nodded, "I'm worried about her. She's been so unstable. Not being able to save anyone has put too much pressure on her."

Haru sighed a bit, his smile fading, "Yeah, same with Mayu." As the elevators opened, they happened to see Fuka going towards the cafe herself.

"Fuka!" Haru called out.

Fuka perked up, "Hey there! I figured Rio's probably cooking, so I wanna steal some food!"

Haru said, "Oh right... Odd though, it doesn't smell like food."

Akihisa then felt a sudden feeling of dread. Something deep inside screamed at him, and he quickly moved them aside to go inside the cafe. All was quiet. There didn't seem to be anyone there. Not even caring if the two followed, Akihisa went into the kitchen of the cafe. There was broken glass on the ground, along with a frying pan on the floor with a small amount of blood. He began to panic, and called out, "RIO?!"

Haru followed after, "Whoa! She's probably just sleeping! You told her to stay in her room!"

Fuka said, "Hmm.. Looks like something happened." She shrugged it off, "While you guys check her room, I'm gonna make a smoothie." She stopped before the walk-in freezer and said, "Hey, He DID punish us! It's on the highest blast! The food is probably frozen solid!" She adjusted the temperature back, then after a moment, opened the door.

Icy air poured out, as a sight caught Fuka's eyes. She hesitated but said, "..Aki...?"

He looked over, "What?" He froze in his steps as he stepped towards the scene. On the ground, rested on a box, was the frozen body of Rio. It was very obvious that she had died from hypothermia, as her fingers were purple along with her cheeks, nose and lips. Ice was in her hair. There was a burnt wound on her arm, but there wasn't much blood coming from it. All they could do was stare at the scene for a long moment, before Akihisa ran to the body.


	16. Trial 5

The air was still freezing. Akihisa ran over, checking Rio over, "S..She's..."

Haru said, "Whoa she's dead..." He looked in awe, "By hypothermia? That's so interesting. How would that happen though?"

Akihisa said, "Fucking hell, How...? Who would do that?!"

Fuka said, "That's what we gotta figure out, buddy." She shrugged, as a body announcement message came on.

Yuma was the first to arrive. Pitying Akihisa, he said, "We'll figure out who did it. Don't worry."

Akihisa just looked at Rio, knowing he couldn't do much because of the crime scene, "I'm sorry..." He looked down, quiet.

Yuma walked over, and put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll watch over her body with you, okay?"

All Akihisa could do was nod.

Fuka looked at Haru, "How about we investigate together?"

Haru smiled, "Sure!"

Fuka said, "So let's keep in mind. Emi, May, and Kei are all not here currently. Me, You, Aki and Yuu are here, but the murder happened last night, so it could be any of us!" She looked deep in thought, "Hey, Let's check the kitchen first."

Haru nodded as they went back into the kitchen. Fuka knelt down by some broken glass, "Hey Haru, Look!"

Haru questioned, "Broken glass? But from what? Nothing looks broken here."

Fuka explained, "It's only a few shards, so perhaps the murderer wasn't able to clean it all in time."

Haru said, "I see, I see." He noticed the frying pan, "It's dirty. Someone was cooking with it."

Fuka nodded twice, responding, "Ah... That would mean there was possibly a struggle."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Think about it. Someone was cooking, possibly Rio, and the murderer came up, grabbed the frying pan, and attacked her with it!"

"Hmm, really?" Haru wasn't sure about that, but he took note of it.

They stopped by the crime scene again. Haru looked at Rio carefully, "The burn could be from the frying pan..."

Akihisa looked over, and said, "That would make sense... But she wasn't clumsy. So how that happened is unknown."

Haru thought for another moment, then quietly looked at her face, "She was crying a bit. Hypothermia doesn't kill right away. She must've been in here for at least an hour before dying."

That statement made Akihisa flinch, and stare down, "I should've heard..."

Yuma shook his head, "You were in your room. You wouldn't have heard. No one would've. It's not your fault, Akihisa."

Akihisa stared away, "It's hard to believe that. She must've been suffering."

Fuka said, "I don't think she had any negative feelings towards you." She inspected then noticed a spill of frozen berries. She took a picture of it on her phone, keeping quiet.

Haru replied, "Yeah, she liked you!" He then noticed, that Rio's sleeve with the burn had more ice on it, along with part of her dress. He said, "Guys, I think someone sped up the process. Being wet can speed up the process of hypothermia. It looks like someone splashed Rio with water before pushing her into here." He then noticed Fuka still staring around the berries, "Fuka, We can get food after!"

Fuka said, "Aki. Come here."

Akihisa said,"What?" He walked over, and looked at what Fuka was pointing at. Next to the mess of berries was a smeared message that read simply:

_I love you Aki._

He fell to his knees by it, "...Rio." He frowned.

Haru said, "Awww, how sweet! Was it a last message?"

Fuka nodded, "She left more than we needed. Perhaps knowing Akihisa would try to blame himself." She smiled a bit, "I told you."

Akihisa closed his eyes for a moment, then said, "We need to keep trying to find the mastermind. Is it really one of us?"

Time went by, and the trial was now here. Everyone gathered, seeming to have a determination now. No one wanted this to continue. Mayu and Keiju both seemed extremely upset and uneasy, which seemed normal for the two timid ones. Emiri was as calm as usual.

Mononuki said, "Time to solve the mystery of who killed Rio! You guys ready?! I know I am!" It laughed.

Haru didn't waste time. He said, "So, we know Rio died of hypothermia. The culprit locked her in, and just waited for her to die. But it's obvious there's more to the story."

Emiri said, "Should we do alibis first?"

Fuka said, "Well, alibis are hard considering we don't know what time it happened. The files don't say anything. But I can be the first to accuse."

Haru looked shocked, "Really?! Who?!"

Fuka pointed at Emiri, "You! I saw you go to the ballroom last night!"

Emiri was confused, but stated, "Huh? No, you're mistaken! I lost my phone there! Haru can confirm. I went to his room last night to ask if I left it there!"

Haru looked thoughtful and replied, "Oh, she did. Plus, I really don't think Emiri would be strong enough to push Rio in, and lock her in there."

Fuka said, "Oh. Well, then alibis are bullshit. We will all just claim we were in our rooms asleep!"

Haru said, "W-well, then maybe we can talk about the struggle."

Mayu frowned, "S-struggle?"

Haru nodded, "Yeah. The glass and frying pan in the kitchen. The frying pan was dirty, as if someone was cooking with it last night. I thought about it, and I think I know what happened."

Keiju said, "T-then what...?"

Haru explained, "The culprit came from behind, but Rio tried to hit them with the frying pan. They managed to dodge and knocked it out of her hands. Then they used it to hit her, burning her arm. Perhaps they felt bad, or this was all part of the plan. Because they splashed her with water. Maybe it was to help the burn, maybe it was for the next part of the plan. I'm not sure yet. But the culprit then managed to shove her into the walk in, close it and lock it so she couldn't get out. Then, when it was securely locked, they put the temperature at the coldest possible setting. Which for this rigged place, was enough to kill someone. Isn't that right, Mononuki?"

Mononuki grinned, and exclaimed, "Well duh! We _want_ you to murder, silly! So if someone wanted to kill by freezing the victim, or needed to freeze the body, We will give them what they need!"

Akihisa looked cold, "Fuck that."

Yuma sighed and spoke, "That all makes sense, Haru. But any of us are capable of that. Perhaps Fuka, Mayu and Emiri might be a little small, so doing that might be difficult, but we still don't have any ideas on why or who did it."

Emiri said, "Could it have been the punishment?"

Haru said, "I don't think so. Why would someone kill over something so stupid?"

Emiri looked deep in thought about that. She went silent, as Fuka spoke.

"Well, punishment or not, Someone here did it."

Haru said, "Hmm... Yuma! You did it because if you couldn't have your lover, no one should!"

Yuma just yanked his ahoge, "Stop saying stupid shit, Haru."

Haru sobbed, "I'm sorry, but you said it's more likely to be a guy! So I just thought as logically as I could!"

Yuma just blankly yanked a few more times, then went back to his stand, "Ignoring the idiot, do we have any other evidence?"

It was then Fuka grinned, "Oh, I know who did it already. But watching this is too funny."

Akihisa said, "You do?!"

Fuka said, "But I need you to figure it out yourself. I'll help though! Let's start with something small, okay? From what I could see, Rio probably trusted the person enough to let them close. So I imagine it's someone here who hasn't been very well. Let's consider the glass."

Yuma stated, "It was glass from a cup or something when they splashed her."

"No no!" Fuka huffed, "The glasses here aren't easy to break! They're plastic!"

Yuma looked shocked, "You're right... So where did the glass come from...?"

"Glasses!" Fuka exclaimed, "The killer knocked off their glasses, and accidentally broke them!"

Emiri said, "Ah? Well, the only two who wear some form of glasses are Haru and Keiju."

Keiju said,"H-huh?!"

Fuka said, "And neither are wearing them today!"

Haru looked shocked but said, "Hey! Mine are just in my room! I can prove that!"

Emiri said,"Then... Keiju?"

Keiju looked paler than usual, "Me? B-but..."

Yuma said, "But is he capable of that?"

Emiri said, "I...think he is actually. Think back a bit. I think I realized something big."

Haru looked confused, "What do you mean?"

"Think back, I said. For a while now, Keiju has been looking for headphones. His headphones. Why is that?"

Keiju replied, "I just use them while I work!"

Emiri looked at Haru, "Put that together with the punishment. Why ticking?"

It then hit Haru like a train. Confused, he said, "Because... Keiju is afraid of ticking sounds."

Keiju said, "What?! B-but that makes no sense!"

Akihisa said, "It really doesn't. Keiju works as a clockwork. He hears that shit all day."

Haru shook his head, "No! It's true! Keiju uses the headphones to drown out the sound of ticking! Because he's afraid of it! Terrified! It's a phobia!" He paced a bit back and forth, "The punishment was directly trying to push him further into insanity. He was already afraid, so the mastermind figured they'd try a tactic to push one of the most docile people here to murder."

Keiju looked terrified, "That's not true!"

Akihisa said, "Haru! Leave him alone!"

Haru just looked lost in his own thoughts, "Mononuki. Play the sound please."

Mononuki grinned, "How evil! Sure, why not?" The ticking started again.

The room was silent for a moment. Akihisa groaned, "See? That's just another weird theory."

Haru said, "Wait!"

Suddenly, Keiju snapped," STOP IT! STOP IT STOP IT STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT!" He fell to his knees, continuously screaming out the same thing. Over and over, as if in terrible pain.

Haru frowned, but looked at Mononuki and said, "Turn it off."

The ticking stopped, with Keiju sobbing onto the floor.

Emiri said, "So it is true."

Akihisa said, "W-whoa..."

Yuma looked away, "So, why work with something that scares you?"

"I... Wanted to get past the fear, and I do like clocks a lot. But I could never handle it, so I use headphones..." Keiju sat, pulling his knees to his chest.

Fuka spoke up again, "One more evidence against Keiju. Can I have everyone look over this picture I took?"

"It's fucking berries." Yuma bluntly stated.

"No! Stop taking one glance! Look closer!" She looked irritated.

Emiri said, "It's a death note."

Fuka nodded, "Yes. Rio left us a hint, but hid it from the killer by writing the last note to Aki. Look! The berries make a circle, with some in the middle. It makes a clock!"

Haru looked amazed, "It really does. She knew the killer could've easily tampered with it, so she made it look like she just used the berries to write a goodbye. But she did both."

Keiju said, "B-but..." He looked terrified, still sobbing.

Haru said, "Let's run through this again. So Keiju was terrified due to the ticking, so he stuck himself in his room. He figured late at night, that no one was around, so he should eat. However, Rio was stressed so she stayed up to make a snack. He found her there, and one thing led to the other. He tried to attack her, she swung back, knocking his monocle off. He accidentally stepped on it, breaking it. He then grabbed the frying pan from her and hit her with it. Then, he got concerned about the burn, so he messily splashed cold water on her to make it a bit better. Keiju obviously doesn't know how to handle it, and probably didn't intend to kill her. But something else happened, and he shoved her in. Then he locked it from the outside, and blasted the freezer."

Akihisa said, "But...why?"

Keiju went silent, "It..It wasn't..."

Mononuki spoke up, "Time to vote! We'll explain afterwards!" The votes came in, although hesitantly. The wheel spun and landed on Keiju. Mononuki continued, "You were all right! Keiju did kill Rio!"

Akihisa said, "That doesn't explain why!" He looked extremely upset, turning to Keiju, "Explain it to me! Why kill Rio?! She just wanted to help!"

Haru went over, "Aki, calm down!"

Keiju looked distraught, "I-I couldn't help it! Mononuki told me the pain and ticking would stop if I shoved her in and blasted it! I couldn't think!"

Emiri frowned, and spoke, "But what about the attack?"

Keiju said, "It wasn't a harmful attack. She kept pressuring me to tell her what was wrong. I just accidentally lashed out. Then I felt really bad about burning her..."

Haru said, "So, It's Mononuki's fault?"

Mononuki shook its head, "Nope! I didn't turn up the freezer! I just gave a helpful suggestion!" It grinned.

Yuma said, "This is all too fucked up!" He looked angry, "Just put an end to this now!"

Mononuki replied in an ominous way, "It's not time yet. My master has not told me it's time." It then smiled, "Anyways, Time to execute!"

Keiju flinched, and begged, "Please, no!"

Mononuki pressed the button anyways, the ground below Keiju disappearing and sending him into the abyss.


	17. Execution 5: Ticking Time Bomb

Keiju found himself in a wooden shop. Surrounding him was all kinds of different clocks. He walked down the rows, lined with many many clocks. The sound of ticking could be heard, causing him to shake, and start crying again. He stopped in front of a rather cartoonish cuckoo clock. He noticed it just hit the hour-mark, and the little door opened up. What shot out was not a cute bird, but a Mononuki holding a decently sized knife, stabbing into Keiju's shoulder. He screamed, falling back. The clockwork tried to call for help, but it didn't seem like anyone would come to his rescue. It seemed worthless, and the ticking continued to pound in his ears. He felt dizzy, holding onto his wound. He then noticed a Mononuki leave a rather large and shiny clock hand on the ground.

Desperate to stop the ticking, Keiju picked it up, and used it to start breaking the clocks. He didn't realize that the entire hand was sharpened greatly. But with each hit, the sharp ends of the blade would stab deeper into his hand. By the time the clocks were all destroyed, pink blood dripped down from his hands. He flinched, confused on why the ticking didn't stop. Did he miss one? He desperately searched around, confused on how it didn't stop. He felt he was going crazy. There was no speakers anywhere, nor anything that could tick other than the clocks. He checked every clock to no avail. He curled up on the ground, bleeding and crying.

In the end, the shop was actually on top of a bomb, held by a massive Mononuki. The ticking wasn't coming from a clock, but from a bomb. It grinned, as the time on the countdown reaches zero, causing a huge explosion.


	18. A Hidden Room

The execution was over. The remaining six stared at each other. None knew what to say, and most were at high emotions. Mayu finally began to cry again, "I can't take this..." She fell to her knees.

Akihisa went over, putting a hand on her back, "Mayu, It's not your fault."

"But I could finish this if I just asked... They know who the mastermind is..."

"But you'll die if you reveal anything. And not in a comfortable way." Haru said with a frown.

Mayu sobbed into her hands, feeling completely helpless. Akihisa tried his best to comfort the purple-haired medium. She glanced up just a bit to see a faint outline of Rio, trying to comfort her also. Faint outlines seemed to surround her, which made her feel even more guilty. Akihisa held onto her, letting her cry onto him.

Emiri frowned, "It really isn't your fault, Mayu. It's the mastermind's."

Haru said, "Yeah! How about this?! Tonight, we'll all get together to search for clues!"

Mayu peeked out from Akihisa's shoulder, "But... We already looked so much..."

Haru said, "I think there's still more we haven't found out! It's worth a try! What does everyone else think?"

Emiri gave a small smile, "I think it can't hurt."

Yuma looked at them, "I honestly don't mind either."

Fuka grinned, "Let's do it!" She jumped up a bit, "For the others!"

So it was decided. Akihisa helped Mayu to her room to go rest up a bit. Then everyone went their separate ways to either eat, or go relax in their room.

It was almost night time now. Haru made his way to the bar, taking a seat. He glanced over at Akihisa, who was mixing a drink. Haru smiled, and asked, "Can you make me one?"

Akihisa nodded, doing so, "Don't get drunk though. We don't want any accidents."

"You worry too much."

"I have every reason to."

Haru just chuckled a bit, taking it, "Hey Aki. Do you really think one of us is the mastermind? It doesn't make sense."

Akihisa thought for a moment, then said, "I'm not even sure anymore. But I'm curious to know their reasoning. We have no information about them."

"Well, I like them. They've given me quite the writing material."

"You idiot, people died. Plus, you might not get out alive either." Akihisa groaned at Haru's carelessness.

Haru just glanced up, "I don't mind. I've kinda wanted to experience death honestly. Makes me wonder what someone thinks in their last moments. It seems Rio was thinking about you. That's so romantic." He smiled dreamily, taking a sip.

"You're so fucked up." Akihisa gave another long sigh. He really would never understand Haru's attitude.

After some more chattering, the others started to come over. First Fuka, then Emiri, then Mayu, then Yuma. Haru stood, and everyone gathered in a circle.

Haru took control, "Okay guys, We're gonna investigate the building one more time!" He grinned, "Let's split into two groups! Emiri, Fuka and Yuma, can you guys check the upper floors? Me, Mayu and Akihisa can check the first and second floors."

"Sounds good!" Emiri said with a smile.

Fuka jumped up, "I wanna check out that weapon room!"

"Alright. Be safe, you three." Yuma spoke calmly.

With that, Haru led Akihisa and Mayu around. The second floor held nothing too interesting. Just normal things. Bad and good memories. The first floor though, was a different story.

As they inspected the ballroom, Haru found a door behind the stage, but it was locked shut. He huffed, "Rude. They won't let us in this room."

Mayu said, "Do you think it's important?"

"It must be where the mastermind works. Think about it. We haven't seen anything about the mastermind." Akihisa stated, and sighed, "I think we'd be breaking rules if we broke in."

Mayu frowned, "Maybe we can tell the others at least."

Haru gave a nod, staring at the door. He pressed his ear to it, not really hearing anything coming from it. With that, he sighed heavily.

The little group of three walked along, checking the other rooms. The cafe, gift shop, lobby, pool, and laundry rooms were normal. Nothing important, nothing to note. It was seemingly becoming depressing. Haru frowned, "There has to be something other than that door to figure out."

Akihisa said, "Let's check the storage room, then we can go see the others."

Mayu opened the door, walking in. Akihisa followed, and Haru was the last inside. They searched the large storage room for a bit. Then suddenly, the two heard Haru yelp.

When they came over, Haru was face-down on the ground, sobbing like a child. He said, "I tripped!"

Mayu sighed, and Akihisa groaned, "Haru, stop messing around."

Haru whined, "It's not my fault! The rug got in my way!"

Akihisa then blinked, "Haru, you complete idiot, you found something!"

Haru gasped, "What?!"

Hidden under the rug was what looked like a door to perhaps a basement. The three looked at each other for a moment.

Akihisa said," Well, should we?"

Mayu suddenly moved, trying to open it herself, "They're telling me we should."

Haru helped her, "Ah! Alright!"

Akihisa watched as the two opened it up. What was below was dark, and a metal ladder was the only thing that led down.

"Mayu first."

"EH?! Why?!"

"Because you have a skirt! If the lights turn on, one of us could see up it if something happens!" Haru said, flustered.

Mayu blushed, but said, "I understand. Thank you for considering my feelings."

Using some flashlights from the storage room, the three went down to the basement. Akihisa found a light switch, "Ah! Found one!"

Haru said, "Let there be light!"

The lights came on to a scene that was nothing like any of them expected. The concrete floor had streaks of dried blood, as if bodies were dragged along it. It looked to be some sort of torture room, mixed with a laboratory. There was rusted tools, and broken restraints all around.

Haru began to drool, "This is so cool. How many people do you think died?!"

Mayu stared around, "Strange... There's no souls here. Usually in a situation like this, some souls would stick around in hopes their tormentor will come back."

Akihisa said, "So... That makes no sense. People obviously died here."

Mayu said, "That's just what doesn't make sense."

Haru was happily going around, playing with rusted tools and humming. He then noticed a piece of paper on the ground, almost hidden. He picked it up, "Huh. Interesting."

The paper was in a bit of messy handwriting, but read:

_(Smudge) is a perfect specimen. _

_No matter what happens, we get the same result._

_I thought it wasn't possible, but (smudge) won't die._

_But what about (smudge)'s mental state? Perhaps this is going too far._

_But the boss says it's okay, and if he says it's okay, then we must keep going._

_After all. (smudge) is his (smudge)._

_What kind of (smudge) would endanger their (smudge)?_

Haru slowly took a picture with his phone, and just blinked, "Hey guys... I think only one person died here."

Akihisa said, "What?"

Before they could walk over, Mononuki ran in and ate the paper, "Hahahaha! You kids are so funny! Let's go back now! Common!" It began to shove Haru, "You're not supposed to be here!"

Mayu said, "Eh?!"

Akihisa said, "We didn't break in. So it's not breaking the rules."

Mononuki quickly said, "Yeah, yeah. I won't punish you. But I will if you don't get out! New rule! This place is now off-limits! I can't have the boss seeing this!"

Haru looked shocked as Mononuki's appeared, dragging them all back up. He said, "I think we found something interesting."

Everyone managed to meet up, and Haru explained what happened.

Emiri looked a bit pale, "Oh dear... You saw something that bad? Are you guys okay?"

Akihisa sighed, "Haru enjoyed it."

Haru grinned, "I learned enough! Don't worry guys, I think we can do this!"

Mayu frowned, "But... What if we can't? If this is built on some sort of lab, then it's likely we're just being experimented on. None of us will be able to leave..."

Fuka said, "I'm sure we can get out! Let's keep this up! Maybe tomorrow we can all explore again!"

Mayu was silent, lost in thought. She seemed uneasy after what they saw.

Akihisa said, "Yeah yeah, let's just get some rest. Mayu, will you be able to sleep after seeing that?"

Mayu nodded, "Yeah." She left rather suddenly.

Akihisa looked worried, but let her, "Fuka and Emiri, please keep an ear out."

That night, Haru stretched, getting ready for sleep. He stripped down to his black boxers that had little purple skulls on them. With that, he pulled a white t-shirt on with it, and was going to head over to his bed. Suddenly, he heard something. Footsteps of someone running away? He looked confused, then noticed a note at his door. He picked it up, reading it carefully. He seemed even more confused now, not knowing what exactly it meant.

But it was late, and he figured he'd just tell everyone in the morning. With that, he had good dreams. Dreams of fluffy death scenes, and steamy murderers.

The next day, he woke up, forgetting about the note completely somehow. He isn't really the most reliable person in the world, now is he?

He went to the cafe as usual, seeing everyone but Mayu there. He said, "Sup guys?!"

Emiri perked up, "Haru! Good morning! Want some coffee?"

"Hell yeah I do!"

Yuma leaned back, "That's fine and all, but where's Mayu? She seemed rather off last night, and the amount of stress she's been under hasn't been good."

Akihisa said, "I think she's in her room. Haru, take Fuka and go get Mayu."

Fuka got up, running over to Haru and hugged him, "Let's go, Weird friend!"

Haru grinned, "Okay!" The two went to go find Mayu.

Haru looked at Fuka, "So, is lethal injection fun?"

"Hmm, not as much as decapitation. It's fun to see the heads talk for a little bit. More like panic."

"I wish I was you."

"You're so funny, Haru!" Fuka laughed, nudging his arm.

Haru said, "I don't really want to be a murderer. It's too messy, and hiding everything must be stressful. I'm too lazy for that."

"That's why I'm an executioner."

"Really?!"

"Yup. I wanted to kill, so I figured I should do it legally."

"You're literally one of the coolest people here, Fuka."

The chattering stopped as they reached Mayu's door. Haru knocked obnoxiously, "May! It's food time! Common!"

Moments passed, and all they heard was silence.

Fuka suddenly jolted up, "Nuki!"

Mononuki appeared, "I was napping." It looked irritated.

Fuka said, "Open the door."

Mononuki said, "You're so demanding! Fine, but only because I need to." With a swish of its tail, Mononuki disappeared.

Haru opened the door, "That was weird..." He then stopped, seeing quite a sight.

Sitting on the ground by her bed was Mayu, covered in blood. Upon getting closer, it was obvious her throat was slashed. Her cheeks were red, as if she was crying.


	19. Trial 6

Fuka walked over, "Well... Her head is still on her shoulders."

Haru looked dazed, calling Akihisa on the phone.

"Hello?"

"Mayu won't be having breakfast."

"What? Did she eat before?"

"Hmm, not sure. She's dead, so I can't ask her."

"_Haru, what the fuck!? Are you kidding?!_"

"Nope."

It didn't take long for the others to come check. Yuma said, "Holy fuck. Another murder?!"

Akihisa looked at them, "One of us did this shit? After all the damn trouble we had yesterday?!"

Emiri frowned, "Guys, this isn't a time to start getting suspicious. We need to figure out what happened."

Haru nodded, still a bit dazed, "Poor Mayu."

Emiri smiled a bit, "Let's investigate, Haru."

The two checked the body. Emiri said calmly, "There doesn't seem to be a murder weapon around here."

Haru said, "It seems the culprit must've hid it." He noticed something, "Hey. The blood here is smudged weird."

Emiri said, "Perhaps the culprit stepped there but didn't want anyone to know their footprint?"

Haru nodded, "That sounds right."

Akihisa said, "Why is she covered in ink?" He raised a brow.

Haru looked over, inspecting it, "That's the ink from the pens supplied here."

"You... can tell by the ink?"

"Yeah, it's super low-quality cheap shit." He looked irritated, "It sucks to write with because it smudges so easily."

Haru walked along, and noticed a broken pen in the trash. He noted it as evidence.

Emiri came over, looking, "Ah. That explains that." She smiled.

But Haru felt bothered. Something seemed off, and he couldn't tell what. It was like after Ikki's execution. He couldn't understand why, but something seriously felt off. He tried to shake the feeling off, but nothing helped.

So he tried to keep inspecting things.

Oddly enough, there wasn't much evidence around. Haru searched and searched, but things looked normal.

The trial seemed to come fast. Everyone gathered up, as usual. Looks were exchanged around. But did anyone here really kill her?

Haru looked at them, but sighed and said, "So, It happened last night."

Yuma said, "There's only five of us left. Let's just start accusing."

Akihisa sighed, "Wow, you work fast."

Yuma said, "I'm tired. If there must be four, then four it will be. Fuka, you like clean deaths, was it you?"

Fuka huffed, "You're impatient, and you don't listen. I like decapitation! Not just slitting the throat. You see, if you just slit the throat like that, blood would squirt all over you! Gross! That's so hard to clean!"

Yuma said, "Fair enough, I suppose. Jeez. How about you, Akihisa? You were around her the most. Did you kill her to spare her from the pain?"

Akihisa looked irritated and responded, "Hell no. I had a few drinks and fell asleep right away."

"Then Emiri?"

Emiri said, "I'm sorry. I was with Fuka last night. She wanted to hear about my job, so we had a sleepover."

Fuka nodded, "It was so fun! Emiri has dealt with crazy people!"

Yuma turned, "What about you, Haru?"

Haru said, "I worked on my story, then went to sleep."

Yuma said, "We can't all be innocent."

Akihisa thought for a moment, then spoke up, "It had to be Haru. There's no other option. Mayu was covered in ink. Who else uses ink? I sure don't."

Fuka said, "Ohhh, right! Haru always carries pens around!"

Emiri frowned, "Haru... Please tell me you didn't."

Haru tilted his head to the right just a bit, "What? Me? You think I killed her?"

Yuma said, "It makes sense."

Emiri stared away, "I... Don't want to suspect you, Haru. But... me and Fuka saw Mayu last night. She said she just went to talk to you, and seemed very uneasy."

Fuka said, "Oh my god! She did! Haru, why?!"

Haru suddenly dazed off, "You... think I really did it? Me? I'm the killer?" He suddenly and slowly began to smile, "Does that mean I'll die?"

Emiri flinched, turning a bit pale, "Haru, please! Please find some sort of evidence!"

Haru said, "But, If I die here..."

Mononuki suddenly spoke, "But, remember, if you're wrong, everyone but the killer dies!"

Haru snapped out of it suddenly, looking disappointed, "How sad. Then no! Hell no! HELL NO!" He huffed, stomping his foot, "I didn't do it!"

Akihisa said, "Really? Because with that lapse of emotional stability, I'm doubting you."

Haru responded, "It wouldn't be fun if everyone died with me. So I'm gonna fight back!"

Yuma groaned, "There's no other evidence! This is worthless!"

Haru dropped his arms, "I don't care! I didn't do it!" He then felt something, "AH! GUYS!" He started to jump, "Guys, Guys, Guys, I know what happened!"

Emiri jumped a bit, shocked, "What?! What is it?!"

Fuka said, "Tell us, Haru!"

Haru said, "It was a suicide." He looked a bit more grim.

Yuma flinched at that, "What?!"

Haru said, "Let me explain it. Once I do, I think it'll be clear." He took a deep breath, "Mayu was afraid. She keeps watching people die, then appear to her as a spirit, confused and terrified. She'd have to comfort each one by herself, until the other spirits could help. This is a huge toll on someone constantly fearing their life! With each dark thing we've had to see, Mayu has been feeling worse and worse. She felt like if she would've just called the mastermind out and died, it would've saved more people. So she finally reached a breaking point. Before anyone else could die, she sacrificed herself to help us." He paced back and forth, very animated," But for our safety, she couldn't just tell us who the mastermind is. We have to find that ourselves. So she wrote a note, but in her shaking state, she broke the pen at the end, splattering ink on herself. Emiri can confirm, there was a broken pen in her trash can. She then went to the person who said he had things figured out. Me! That's why those two saw her coming from the boy's floor. She wasn't talking to me! But if she would've told you, you would've refused to let her die! So she said she was just talking to me! But instead, she left me a note, then went to her room to kill herself, before the mastermind could find out and kill her!"

Yuma looked shocked, speechless.

Fuka said, "Whoa..."

Emiri was pale, shaken, "She... did? I could tell she was depressed, but... I didn't think..."

Akihisa said, "Somehow... That makes sense... But Haru, prove it. The letter."

Haru nodded, pulling it out, "I'll read it out loud, then pass it around so you can all confirm it's legit." He read, "Dear Haru, I cannot let anyone else die. So I hope with this, you can end this game and save who is left. I know it won't be easy, but I have faith in you. You're a strange person, but strange is good. Plus remember the following. I can't find Ikki's spirit, that basement didn't have any spirits, and one last thing. Setsuna told me that the mastermind's writing was beautiful. Please be strong, and end this for everyone's sake. The dead is rooting for you."

Akihisa rubbed his temples, "How did you read that and not get concerned?"

Haru tilted his head to the side and smiled, "I thought it was just a letter of encouragement!"

Akihisa smacked him, "You damn idiot!"

Haru said, "But... That said, Is that something we're able to vote on?"

Mononuki nodded, "Why, yes. You can vote a dead person as the killer."

The five exchanged glances, and nodded. Everyone seemed okay with this conclusion, since there was no other evidence.

Mononuki said, "Ready to vote, kids?!"

In complete silence, the five voted. The wheel spun and landed on Mayu. Mononuki waited a moment, then smiled, "You were all right! Mayu killed herself! How sad! She must've been so depressed!"

Yuma said, "This isn't funny... But then... What happens now?"

Mononuki thought for a moment, looking at them, then just smiled, "Nothing. That's it. There's no one to punish! Think of this as a reward for being right every time! No one dies this time!"

Something about that felt off. Like everything was solved too easily. Haru couldn't get that uneasy feeling away. Was no one really going to get punished?

Yuma said, "What sort of trick is this?!"

Fuka looked amazed, "Does no one really die?!"

Mononuki got up, "Yup. You got it right. Good job kids!" It just packed up it's things, and disappeared.


	20. Something Isn't Right

It almost felt odd. No one was executed? The five just stared at each other for a long moment.

"Well, there's no use in standing around." Yuma said with a sigh, adjusting his tie, "I'm leaving."

"Same!" Fuka grinned, leaving with him.

Akihisa groaned, and said, "I need a drink." Then he left.

Emiri smiled at Haru, "At least we don't have to watch an execution. Let's just hope... it ends here."

Haru looked back at her, "Yeah, Let's hope." He smiled a bit in return, as they left together.

Days seemed to go by without anything interesting happening. It just seemed like the remaining ones weren't up to murder someone. Almost as if stuck in a pattern, Haru got up, got dressed, and was going to walk to the cafe. He left his room, only to see a shocking sight. Emiri was crawling on the ground, a trail of blood behind her. Weakly, she mumbled, "Haru? Thank god..."

Somehow, he flinched. Something about her being on the ground like that sparked... worry?

He ran over, kneeling down, "Emiri?! What happened?!"

Weakly, she crawled closer to him, forcing herself up enough to grab his shoulders, "Haru... Please end this."

Haru said, "L-Let's get you to the nurse's office, okay?!"

She shook her head, and smiled sadly, "I'm not gonna make it, Haru. The...mastermind attacked me. I guess maybe I found something I shouldn't have? I didn't get a good look at them, since it was too dark... But there's no way I can live through these wounds. I just wanted to talk to you..." She breathed, a bit sharply due to the stab wounds all over her stomach. She coughed, then continued, "I want you to end this, Haru. As soon as you can. You have what you need. They can help you too. Have some hope in them..."

Haru held onto her, "Emiri..." He felt his blood run cold. He had never felt this way before. He couldn't explain it, but something was definitely wrong here.

Emiri just gave him a pitiful smile, and said weakly, "Please... Finish this." She then collapsed, losing consciousness.

Haru panicked, and said, "Akihisa! Yuma!"

Akihisa opened the door, tired, "What are you yelling about..?" He froze, "Emiri!? What happened?!"

Haru said, "The mastermind attacked her!"

Akihisa's voice shook a bit, "Is...she dead?"

Haru looked at her for a moment, then said, "She will be in a moment. The wounds were lethal. I'm surprised she lived long enough to crawl over to the hallway here."

Akihisa frowned, then looked shocked as Haru began to stand. "What are you doing?"

"Doing what I need to. Please take her for a moment."

Akihisa went over, carefully taking Emiri's body. He looked very confused at this point, "Haru?"

Haru's expression couldn't be properly expressed. It seemed emotionless. Blank. He just called out, "Mononuki! It's time to end this!"

Mononuki appeared, "Ah? Why? It's so fun!"

Haru said, "One last trial. We either all die, or we find the mastermind and be freed. How does that sound?"

Mononuki thought for a moment, "Yeah, The boss will think that's fun. Sure! I'll make an announcement." It suddenly disappeared.

Suddenly, Mononuki appeared on the monitors, "Emiri has been found dead! The killer was the mastermind! You have permission to start investigating! The next trial will be the last kiddos! Prepare to say goodbye!"

Yuma walked out, "Whoa! So... Damn..." He was speechless, "Four remain then... Are... We really able to do this?"

Haru nodded, "Yes." He walked over, picking up Emiri's body, "I'm gonna go put her in the morgue." There was a different air around him. Something perhaps more mature. He suddenly grinned, "We're gonna make this fun!" He carried Emiri's body off, leaving the two confused.

Akihisa decided to start investigating. Emiri was stabbed to death by the mastermind, so he knew he probably couldn't find a murder weapon, or anything else like that. So instead, he wanted to focus on the mastermind themselves.

He couldn't find much. But the thing that he noticed was Haru, standing in front of the door backstage of the ballroom's stage. Akihisa said, "Haru? What's up?"

"It's open."

Akihisa looked taken back, "What?! Then go inside!"

Haru opened the door. It was a simple room, with monitors that could check everywhere. There was no sign of a mastermind, or of Mononuki. Haru sighed, "Nothing really here. But it is interesting. The mastermind must've come here to look over footage, and would sneak over here whenever they could."

Akihisa nodded, "Yeah. Sounds right." He looked, seeing a notebook. It only had one page, since the others were ripped out.

It read the following:

_I read in a book about Junko Enoshima. A strange person, she was. But what I wonder is..._

_Did she exist? They say what she did went down in history. The world slowly rebuilt itself to wonders after a young man defeated her. Together with his friends, they rebuilt a beautiful world._

_But I still don't understand. What was the cause? Why did she make the killing game? For fun? _

_I want to know. _

_I want to know._

_I want to know!_

Akihisa said, "So, whoever it was, read a history book and got confused."

Haru said, "Junko... Enoshima?" He tilted his head to the side, "Sounds like a novel."

Akihisa explained, "It was so long ago, that historians today believe that it might've been false. They were told stories, but everyone who lived long enough to tell the tale are long dead. It could've been a story like Santa Claus. That just stuck to the human race."

Haru tilted his head to the side, "Weird. Well, This note doesn't really narrow anything down. The handwriting is nice, but that really still holds the doors of the mystery open. Any of us could've learned about Junko, and made a killing game. We're all messed enough to do it, except for you."

Akihisa sighed, "That's because I'm not crazy, or in Yuma's situation, done with the human race."

Nothing else of interest came up. To Haru, he knew he had what he needed. An idea was already forming. Although it didn't seem there was much evidence, Haru had plenty. But before they left the room, they both suddenly jumped, hearing something. It sounded like someone was in the vents. Akihisa and Haru exchanged glances. Then, Haru climbed up on a chair, "It's...not nailed in...?" He moved the cover to the vent, and fell back, "Huh? How?"

Akihisa caught him, "What?! What did you see?!"

Haru got back up, reaching in and dragged something out. What he found was something that would make the next trial somewhat more interesting.


	21. The Last Trial

Akihisa's eyes widened at the sight. For, it wasn't even a gorey sight, but it was shocking enough to make him speechless.

Haru had brought out a living being, and one they knew, at that.

Ikki woke up, seeming to have been sleeping. He looked at them, and slowly processed what was going on, "Oh. Haru and Akihisa. Is it over? Can I come out without being stabbed?"

Akihisa walked over, grabbing him, "YOU DIED!"

Ikki said, "Oh. No, I guess it's not over. Sorry, I can't say anything. I'm bound by word." He pointed to the black collar around his neck, one similar to Mayu's.

Haru said, "I'm... confused. But I'm glad you're okay?" He tilted his head to the side again, completely baffled.

Before they could say anything, the monitor came on, "Trial time! Are you guys ready?! It's the final countdown! Oh, but instead of the normal, boring, trial room, please head to the ballroom instead!"

Ikki said, "I probably gotta stay here. I'll see you guys soon." He climbed back into the vent.

The two boys were confused as all hell. But they both walked out to see that somehow, the ballroom had changed completely to an elegant trial room.

Haru looked amazed, "Pretty!"

Akihisa grabbed him, dragging him over, "Common, idiot. Let's finish this."

Haru nodded, and took his place. He glanced at the stage, as Mononuki closed the scarlet red curtains.

The other two had come in. Fuka looked at them, "You both look pale. Scared?"

Haru said, "Well..."

Mononuki spoke up, "Time to start! I'll help ya out! Think carefully. Was it one of you four?"

They all exchanged glances again.

Akihisa said, "I don't think so. It seems too unlikely that the four of us would kill anyone." He sighed.

"So... Then it's someone we don't know?" Fuka asked.

Yuma shook his head, "No, It has to be one of us. There's no one else here, right, Mononuki?"

Mononuki grinned, "I'll give you a fun hint. The only people to come into this building was me, and the people you met. There are no strangers here!"

Haru said, "That confirms my thoughts. Guys, There's no way it's one of us four. It has to be someone who died."

"Huhhhh? How is that possible, Haru?" Fuka asked.

Yuma replied, "Exactly. It's impossible."

Haru said, "Mononuki is literally a demon. This trial room should be enough to tell you that it'd be enough to cause an illusion, or bring someone back. Bringing someone back to life shouldn't be impossible."

Akihisa nodded, and spoke, "Plus, we literally just found evidence that's possible."

Fuka tilted her head in confusion, "Please explain."

Akihisa said, "Ikki is alive. We found him in the vents!"

Yuma said, "That's impossible. He was executed!"

Haru thought but then frowned, "Wait a moment. No. Ikki was never killed."

Yuma looked irritated, "What are you talking about? We all saw it!"

"No! We all saw him get buried, but we never saw a dead body!" Haru explained, "Ikki never died. This doesn't have to do with the mastermind."

Fuka rubbed her head, "I don't get it!"

Haru said, "It... makes sense. Ikki was the Ultimate Wanderer, but I...think he had another talent. Because his stories say he somehow survived extreme situations."

Mononuki grinned, "That's true! But tell me, Haru. What is Ikki's true ultimate? The mastermind never helped him. In fact, the mastermind had to keep him quiet."

Haru thought about it for another moment, then said, "He's the Ultimate Escape Artist. That explains things, right?"

Akihisa said, "It does?"

"Yeah. Ikki was able to somehow escape his own execution, probably using things from his backpack. When the mastermind found out, they panicked and put a collar on him, since they didn't want to try to kill him again and fail. At least if he tried to tell anyone, the collar would kill him before he could." Haru frowned.

Fuka said, "That's amazing!"

Mononuki spun around, "With that said, Here's Ikki!" The curtains opened, as Mononuki's pushed Ikki out. The curtains then closed.

Ikki walked over, taking his spot, "Hello Yuma, Fuka."

Fuka ran over, tackling him into a hug, "Ikki! Wow, you're so cool! How did you do it?"

Ikki dazily stared off, "I don't remember."

Yuma sighed, "Yeah, this is nice and happy, but that doesn't explain the mastermind being one of the dead. How do we know it's not Ikki? He was in the mastermind's room, right?"

Haru shook his head, "It's not Ikki. Why would the mastermind put a collar on themselves? It wouldn't make sense. Plus, Ikki is being used to confuse us. Mayu confirmed it by what Setsuna said."

"The thing about handwriting?" Akihisa said with a raised brow.

"Yes. How did Setsuna know the mastermind's handwriting was pretty?"

Fuka jumped up, "Because she found out who the mastermind was via their handwriting! A forger is good at that shit!"

Haru nodded, "Exactly! Setsuna found out the mastermind, but it was too early. So the mastermind killed her, and pinned the blame on Ikki since he was an easy target. That explains Ikki's confusion during the trial. He wasn't afraid of being caught, he was terrified because he had no idea what happened."

Ikki nodded quietly, "It was scary. Everyone was against me. Everyone wouldn't look at me..."

Fuka frowned, petting Ikki, "So sorry, Ikki! We really thought it was you!"

Yuma said, "I see. But then what about the mastermind?"

"Pretty handwriting does work. The people who had the nicest handwriting was Setsuna, Fuka, Emiri, Keiju, and Touya... Somehow."

Yuma said, "So, it's one of those? Then it could be Fuka."

Fuka huffed, "Excuse you!"

Haru thought, then asked, "Hey Fuka, Who is Junko?"

Fuka looked extremely confused, "Who? Is that your girlfriend?"

Haru said, "That proves it. Fuka's not the mastermind."

Yuma looked irritated, "How... did that prove anything?"

Akihisa perked up at this, and said, "Because me and Haru found the mastermind's notes. It talks about Junko Enoshima, and how the mastermind wanted to figure out why she did what she did."

Haru seemed hesitant, finally realizing who it was. He said, "...I...might know who it is."

Yuma said, "You do?! Then tell us!"

Mononuki spoke up, "Actually, yeah. Haru, it seems like you have figured it out. But you know why, right?" All Haru could do was nod, so Mononuki continued, "Then call their name! But let's make this interesting. If you guess wrong, I get to kill you in front of everyone!"

Akihisa flinched at that, "Haru! T-talk this out more!"

Yuma said, "Yeah, don't make a fucking mistake! We need everyone alive!"

Fuka frowned, "Haru!"

Something just snapped in him. Like, suddenly everything made sense. All the experiences that Haru went through. It all made sense. He knew that if he explained, everyone else would know anyways. To him, it wasn't hard once everything came together. But he hesitated. He didn't want to speak. Because, if he did, would this really be over? Anxiety flushed over him, as he listened to everyone try to tell him to stop. It was as if time froze. All he could do is stand there in place. Could he really end this? All the blood and gore. He liked it. So why would he end it?

It was then something happened. The note fell out of the pocket of his hoodie. Mayu's words rushed over him. It was almost as if he felt everyone standing there, beside him. Rooting him on. Hoping that he'd do what they wish they could. He felt the hope build up inside him, and couldn't help it. With full confidence, he silenced everyone by yelling,

"**Emiri!**"


	22. The Mastermind Is Here!

The room went silent. Confused and pale faces all stared at Haru. Their attention was then turned when the curtains open. Sitting on the stage was none other than Emiri, wearing an oversized cardigan that was themed like Mononuki. She gave her normal, calm smile, "I'm so proud of you, Haru. You got it right! Bravo!" She clapped, as if this was a nice ending to a movie.

"Emiri..." Haru frowned, watching as she stood up, and walked to her place.

"Hello everyone. Glad to see you all."

Akihisa said, "You just died... How?"

Yuma said, "It was you?! You were the cause of all of this?! But then why were you helping Haru with the investigation?!"

Emiri smiled and waved her hands, "Whoa whoa, Slow down! One at a time!" She giggled, "Haru, be a dear and explain. The mystery isn't over."

Haru just walked over to Emiri. Everyone watched as his smile grew dreamy. He said, "You've set up such an exciting ending. My heart is pounding, Emiri!" He pulled out a knife from his hoodie.

"What are you doing, Haru?!" Yuma shouted.

Haru just laughed, stabbing Emiri, then again. And again. And again. Within moments, he was on top of her corpse, stabbing it.

Yuma and Akihisa both ran over, dragging a bloodied Haru off. Akihisa said, "You fucking idiot! What the fuck?! Why did you do that?! We didn't learn anything!"

Haru suddenly looked bored, "Ah, you both didn't get the damn hint?

"_What hint?!_" Yuma yelled, pissed.

Haru counted on his fingers, ignoring them. He then pointed to the corpse, that slowly pulled herself up.

Emiri frowned, "You've bloodied my favorite cardigan..."

Akihisa jumped, "I'm sorry, someone please fucking explain! What's going on?!"

Haru slowly nodded, "Akihisa, I can explain that. Remember that creepy lab?"

"Yeah, what about it?!"

Haru said, "I found a page from a journal that explained that down there, there was experimentation going on. In it, the scientist explained that someone used someone else. There were smudges, but... I think I understand based on context. A scientist found out his daughter was immortal. She couldn't die. So he experimented on her. He killed her every way he could to test her immortality. Mayu confirmed that too. She said there was no spirits. That's because only one person was murdered in that room. The unfortunate daughter of a morbid scientist."

Akihisa narrowed his eyes a bit, "Honestly, It's terrifying that you figured out something like that."

Haru pouted a bit, "I had theories, but it got confirmed when Emiri was dying. She didn't seem as frightened as a dying person would be. It almost seemed like she was used to the pain."

Yuma looked confused and said, "You noticed that?"

"No shit, I'm a writer. I've been writing about realistic deaths for years. I should know when a death seems off."

Emiri just gave a pitiful smile, "Yeah, Haru has figured it out." She let Mononuki heal her wounds, not seeming to care too much, "I can't die. But tell me, Why did I do this killing game? If I know the pain of dying, why would I make others suffer it?"

The group stared at each other, trying to ignore Emiri's calm smile. The question was cold, but they had to figure it out.

Fuka swayed back and forth, "Was it about that Junka girl?"

"Junko? Well, Partly, I suppose." Emiri said with a smile.

Akihisa said, "That's not helpful!"

"Ah.. Could it be your Ultimate?" Haru asked.

Emiri looked at him, "Oh? What about it?"

Yuma looked at Haru, understanding somehow. He said, "You're the Ultimate Psychologist. Was it because you wanted to research us? But why us?"

Emiri said, "Oh, it was a random sample. I chose people whose ultimate talents I felt would be the most interesting in a killing game. An escape artist, a bartender, a waitress, a forger, everyone here had a reason for being interesting. How about you take a moment to figure that out? It might help." She began to type on her tablet.

Haru explained," Well...

Akihisa could get people drunk, which did lead up to killings.

Yuma was known for being intimidating, and brutal. So you figured he'd either kill, or you'd see him grow.

Fuka is an executioner, so you figured she'd be accused a lot.

Ikki is an escape artist, but you didn't fully know that at the time. You figured a wanderer might have good stories to tell to influence us.

Setsuna is a forger, so you figured she'd be helpful in trials, or an interesting murderer since she could tamper evidence.

Chizuru was batshit insane, and had a knowledge of drugs and poisons.

Suzu had a sharp tongue that could lead to fights.

Touya had a big following, and a big ego.

Banri had a short temper and trauma.

Keiju had an interesting twist to his talent, being afraid of an aspect of it to the point where he could murder.

Ryuu used to be a doctor, and like Chizuru would have good knowledge of medical things.

Mayu could see and hear spirits, which you thought would be interesting to watch her struggle to not use it to help.

Miho, like Touya, has a big following. But Miho also had a work addiction that could be useful.

And Rio was a genuinely caring and motherly person. She could be seen as a comfort, but then you realized she might go far if her loved ones were threatened."

Akihisa said, "Shit, you paid attention to everyone?"

"Of course." Haru grinned, "Everyone was my friend."

"Precisely!" Emiri smiled, lighting up, "And my lovely protagonist was one no one would expect. I saw potential in the Ultimate Horror Author. I knew you'd have knowledge of dark topics, but honestly, I was kinda hoping you'd kill someone. Other than me, I suppose." She giggled.

Haru looked at her, "You planned every aspect. You used your talent, and your closeness to everyone. You used it to learn everyone's quirks. But... Did this really make you happy?"

Emiri frowned a bit, "Well, I did get close to everyone. But I don't have regrets. I did what I did to learn."

Yuma rubbed his temples, "Well, Then fuck. I don't know what to do now. Usually we'd execute, right?"

Emiri replied, "You still can. If you execute me, you all can use the time I'm recovering to run away. The doors will open if I'm executed." She just smiled, "So go ahead! Vote!" She picked Mononuki up.

Haru said, "Really quick, Is.. Mononuki really a demon? I just guessed."

"Yup. I summoned him myself. We're bound by a blood contract." Emiri snuggled into the demon.

Mononuki said, "I just wanted to watch humans die, and get food."

Haru replied, "A worthy cause..."

Looks were exchanged, as everyone thought it over. One vote, and everything would be over. They'd get to leave, and go back into the world. The bright, sunny world. But... Didn't it seem too easy? Haru felt like there was something not being said. He looked at Emiri for a long moment, then asked, "Is that really it? We die, and you're left to do...what?"

"Explore the world. I've seen what I needed with death. The subject doesn't really interest me anymore. I want to travel the world, and learn about different cultures, and how they differ." She just smiled. Something that was so innocent, so normal.

Haru huffed, "That's so boring!" He looked at her, "Isn't there something more fun?!"

That's when she smiled a bit wider, "Well. There is something. I could bring everyone back to life. Well, Mononuki could. A simple refresh."

Yuma perked up, "What?! You can?! Then do it!" He went over, holding onto the flower clip on his collar.

"Oh, honey, you think it's gonna be all sunshine after?" Emiri just smiled.

Yuma looked pale, "What?"

"Think about it, dear. They all died. And then had to watch helplessly as spirits. They all will wake up in terrible pain from their deaths. Bringing them back to life might cure them, but it won't stop the pain completely, nor will it calm them down. They are bound to be traumatized badly from their death. It's not as simple as you hope, dear."

Haru thought about it, "Then... Help them!"

"Huh?" Emiri looked confused.

Akihisa said, "Yeah, what?!"

Haru rolled his eyes, "Emiri is the Ultimate Psychologist. She could take watch over them, and teach them ways to help cope with it. Wouldn't it be interesting to learn how people cope from death?"

Emiri looked in shock. She suddenly smiled, "It does, actually. The scientists always seemed so interested in my reactions. I could understand why. But... Do you all really trust me watching over them? I could kill them again."

Akihisa said, "I definitely don't."

Haru shook his head, "No, Emiri wouldn't. You're acting calm about it, but after the trauma you faced, would you really want others to feel the same? You can bring them back, but they'd suffer the same as you did."

Emiri looked at him, her smile fading, "Ah... For an idiot, you sure have a way with words."

Yuma said, "So.. What do we do...?" He seemed hesitant.

Haru replied, "It's simple. Do we want to give them all another shot at life?"

Fuka grinned, jumping up and down, "I do, I do! I think Emi will be good now!"

Ikki said, "She was getting bored, which is why she put a stop to it. I don't think she's gonna do it over again. She got what she wanted." He yawned, "I say bring them back." He raised his hand, "I'd like to sign up for therapy too. It was... terrifying in that coffin."

Haru hugged Emiri, "I want to keep being friends. I know they'll suffer at first, but I want everyone to be happy again. I wanna get super drunk together, and eat breakfast again. Maybe we'll all go back to our normal lives. But I hope we still all stay close. I know it's fucked up to say, but then again, everything I say is fucked up. But I feel like this game helped me in a way. I've never really had friends. Everyone thought I was too weird. Everyone here calls me dumb, yeah, but it's so loving. And watching everyone get along... It was nice, wasn't it, Emi?"

Emiri slowly held onto him, "Hey idiot, my blood is gonna stain your favorite hoodie?"

Haru just chuckled a bit, "It already has from your last death. What's one more stained hoodie?"

Emiri leaned onto him.

Yuma sighed, "I don't fully trust it... But I want Chizuru back..."

Akihisa said, "It's gonna be difficult, but I miss Rio. A-and Suzu, and the others."

Fuka grinned, "I just wanna piss everyone off!"

Ikki just smiled a bit, "Let's end this, okay?"

Emiri let go of Haru, and picked Mononuki up, "Okay, dearie. Let's do it, okay?"

Mononuki nodded, and ran off, "I'll bring them back, and bring them over!"

Emiri thought for a moment, then smiled a bit, "One more request as it does that. Can you guys execute me? I've been found guilty of causing all of their deaths. I do not deserve to get out of this without punishment."

The others looked at each other, and silently voted.

Emiri smiled, "Thank you. Well, Emiri has been found guilty. Time to execute!" She jumped up, letting herself fall into the last execution.


	23. The Last Execution: Dead or Alive?

Emiri found herself in an office. It seemed normal, but then the door opened. A mononuki in a lab coat walked over, taking her hand and led her to another room. It sat her on a chair, and rung a bell, then held out a syringe full of some sort of drug. She willingly took it, injecting herself with it. It picked up another, and rung the bell, and she'd take it, injecting herself again. After a few rounds, and her looking more pale, it rung the bell. She picked up an empty syringe, and stabbed herself in the arm with it, looking confused. The Mononuki then took her hand and led her to another room.

It pushed her into a chair, and strapped her into it so she couldn't move. It seemed to be some sort of electric chair. Another Mononuki came in, sitting in a little box with a selection of buttons. The scientist Mononuki walked over, nagging at it to press a button. So it did, shocking her a bit. Then it was told to press another. So it did. Another shock. The shocks kept getting worse, as the Mononuki looked unsure of what it was doing. Before it could do anything lethal, the participant Mononuki ran out crying.

The scientist Mononuki rolled its eyes, and undid the restraints. It then escorted her to a different room. It directed her to stop, and moved away, pressing a button. The ground below her disappeared, and she fell, landing in a huge box. She looked to see a flask of poison, and a radioactive substance.

A giant Mononuki looked at the box, closing it. It looked very confused. Alive? Dead? It didn't know. So it just threw the box into a compactor, letting it crush the box, including Emiri in it.


	24. The Finale

Author's Note: This is the last chapter! Thank you for reading! I worked really hard on this! :) I feel like it's pretty rushed, but I'm still happy with it. This is the first fanfic I really put work into. Remember, all artwork is on the tumblr for this. It's under the tumblr name fanganronpasupernova. Enjoy!

This time, there wasn't much silence. Everyone knew Emiri couldn't die. So she'd be back soon. Haru said, "Oh how fun! Nice references, Emi!" He smiled, cheering it on.

Yuma said, "This is still fucked up."

Akihisa nodded, "Very."

Fuka grinned, "Haru is happy at least." Ikki just nodded in response.

They all watched, until suddenly Yuma felt something jump onto him.

"Yuma! My head hurts!" Chizuru said with a grin, hanging off his back.

Yuma's eyes widened, shaking her off then grabbed her, pulling her close, "Chizuru!"

She smiled, a bit muffled from being shoved into his chest, "You can have my flower. It looks nice on you."

"I don't care about the damn flower, Chizu."

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"No more suffering alone, okay?"

"No more drugging people."

"What?! Common!" Yuma actually started to laugh at that, holding her close.

Haru smiled, "Awwww!"

Fuka said, "He's so happy, he doesn't care if you say anything."

The others walked in slowly.

Akihisa froze up, unsure of what to do. Setsuna walked over to him, "Hey, big bro. So, I've heard and seen a lot."

"Shut up."

"Am I not allowed to talk to my brother about love?"

Akihisa blushed, "Shush."

Setsuna giggled a bit, "She's coming. Along with Suzu. They're both excited to see you." With that, she walked away.

Like she said, Suzu came running in, hugging Akihisa, "Aki!"

Haru said, "I don't get a hug?"

"Go away, you waste of space! How about you go drool over another death?!"

Akihisa pet Suzu, "Good to see you too. Go sass Haru more. It's funny."

Suzu smiled, "Okay! Hey, Can I stay with you? I want to stay with you."

Akihisa said, "Yeah, if Setsuna's okay with it." He then saw Rio, standing politely and waiting. He gently moved Suzu, and walked over. Ever so carefully, he held her face in his hands, "You thought about me until the end."

"Of course I did. You mean a lot to me, Akihisa." She smiled warmly, putting her hands over his, "You handled things well. Thank you for keeping Haru from doing anything too bad."

"He's an idiot."

"I know, honey."

Haru watched it all with a smile. He figured maybe he should help. So he walked to Setsuna.

"Do you hate Emiri?"

"No, not really. If it wasn't for this game, my brother would never get a girlfriend."

Haru chuckled, "That's positive."

Setsuna shrugged a bit, "It happened, it's over. Nothing else matters."

Haru then walked over, grabbing Suzu's hand and led her over to a tired Touya, "Make up."

"What?!" Suzu huffed.

Touya yawned, and said, "Oh. Yeah. I already apologized as spirits. But I'm really sorry, Suzu. Hey, can I come to your restaurant? I wanna review it."

"...Only if you leave a good tip."

"Sounds good." He smiled a bit.

Haru then walked over, pulling Keiju to Rio, "Apologize."

Rio smiled, "Haru, we all talked while as spirits."

"I wanna make sure no one hates each other too much."

"I-It's okay. I'm sorry, Rio. I... really need to work on my phobia."

"It's okay, dear. I shouldn't have pushed it too much." She smiled gently.

Letting them talk, Haru then pulled Miho to Ryuu, "You, too."

Miho stared down, "Thank you for everything. I'm sorry I went that far. It shouldn't have mattered if I stayed or left. I could've shown you all my work. That should've been enough. I was greedy."

Ryuu looked at her, sighing. He pet her, "I didn't think my life was worth much, but seeing as though I'm alive, I guess it does. It's fine. I did it because I wanted to." He paused, "Make sure to show everyone your next game. I expect to get to play any betas."

Miho perked up, smiling and wiping away a tear, "Thank you. Of course."

The author then grinned, and walked over, grabbing Banri and dragging him to Chizuru, "Stop making out with Yuma and apologize."

"He killed me!"

"You made him snap!"

Banri sighed a bit, "Hey. It was my fault too. I'm sorry, Chizuru."

"I'm sorry too! I promise I won't try anything stupid again! Not unless the person agrees!"

Yuma said, "Good girl."

Lastly, Haru walked over to Mayu, "Thank you. You helped a lot. It must've hurt, but I'm glad you're here now."

Mayu looked a bit pale, but said, "I... did good?"

"Yup!"

Mayu began to sob, smiling weakly, "Thank you. That's all I wanted. It hurt so bad, but I'm happy that things are better now..."

Haru pet her, letting her cry on him.

It seemed like everyone was getting along well. Plans were being made for them all to stay together. Some confessions back and forth. Everyone seemed to be at peace, despite everything. The dead were all in a lot of pain, and it was going to be hard for anyone to sleep for a while. A lot of help was needed, but the future looked bright. Hope, yet again, blossomed into a happy ending.

As everyone was getting ready to leave, Haru stuck around. Mononuki had opened the doors, and even the windows. Haru just stared out the window. It was a beautiful day. Bright and sunny, with a few clouds here and there. He had a phone to talk to any of his friends, and he was happy. Finally, he grinned, and said, "Welcome back to the living."

Emiri walked over, smiling softly. She leaned onto his shoulder, and looked out the window, "Is everyone happy?"

"Yup."

"I'm glad. You had a point. I could easily make use of my talents. If people don't want to be around me, that will be fine. But to those who want my help, I'll definitely help. It benefits me also."

Haru looked at her with a smile, "Hey, Can you be my muse?"

"Huh?"

"Well, you can't die. And the pain doesn't bother you, right?"

"I'm numb, yes."

"Well, if I get stuck, could I ask you to let me kill you so I can get good references?"

Emiri just laughed, "You're so strange. But sure. Why not? So you're gonna stay by me?"

"Why not? My work needs the realistic stuff. We can benefit each other."

"How would you benefit me? You didn't die."

"I could make you laugh."

"True."

"Hey, Emiri?"

"Yes, Haru?"

"Let's go. You don't have a good place, right? Stay with me."

"Alright. Can't wait. I want to read more of your work. It might be interesting to see what goes on through your mind."

"I'm an idiot though."

"Yeah, but you're an interesting idiot."


End file.
